Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami adds Japan stop to pre-season tour

Inter Miami now has five preseason matches announced; there are four on the Saudi Arabia-Hong Kong-Japan trip and another in El Salvador on January 19.

Published : Dec 15, 2023 22:32 IST , Fort Lauderdale - 1 MIN READ

FILE - Fans cheer as Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi (10) waits for a corner kick.
FILE - Fans cheer as Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi (10) waits for a corner kick. | Photo Credit: AP
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FILE - Fans cheer as Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi (10) waits for a corner kick. | Photo Credit: AP

The pre-season tour for Lionel Messi and Inter Miami keeps growing, with the team revealing on Friday that a stop in Japan has now been added to the schedule.

Inter Miami will face Japanese league champion Vissel Kobe at the Japan National Stadium on February 7. That will be the fourth match of a tour that includes games in Saudi Arabia — including one pitting Messi against longtime rival Cristiano Ronaldo — on January 29 and February 1, and a game against a team of pro players from Hong Kong on February 4.

Among those on the Vissel Kobe roster is Andrés Iniesta, who once teamed up with Messi and fellow Inter Miami players Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba at Barcelona. Iniesta also was teammates with Busquets when Spain won the 2010 World Cup.

Inter Miami now has five preseason matches announced; there are four on the Saudi Arabia-Hong Kong-Japan trip and another in El Salvador on January 19.

The team will begin preseason training in early January and the Major League Soccer regular season is set to begin in February. 

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