In the early morning of April 28, Messi did not play when coach Mascherano gave him a rest, but he was very disappointed when he saw Inter Miami lose to FC Dallas with a score of 3-4, after leading 3-1 at the beginning of the second half.

Despite not playing, Messi has become the reason for some people to criticize. Some opinions on social network X said that the Argentine star influenced coach Mascherano to rotate the squad, focusing all his strength on the decisive match with Vancouver Whitecaps FC in the second leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup semi-final in the middle of this week. Meanwhile, the goal in MLS (American professional soccer league) has been lowered.

Messi and his wife came to watch the match. At first, he was very happy when Inter Miami led 2-1 and then 3-1. But at the end of the match, he was very disappointed when his team lost.

However, this is considered an acceptable decision in the current reality of Inter Miami. Not only Messi, Coach Mascherano also affirmed that the upcoming big match with Vancouver Whitecaps FC is the current focus of the team, according to some sources from the American sports press.

Coach Mascherano used a lineup with many reserve and young players when Inter Miami hosted FC Dallas at Chase Stadium. After Shaquell Moore opened the scoring for FC Dallas in the 8th minute, striker Fafa Picault, new signing Allen Obando and defender David Martinez scored consecutively in the 16th, 29th and 56th minutes to help Inter Miami lead 3-1.

But then, the gaps in the defense and the lack of solidity of goalkeeper Drake Callender caused Inter Miami to lose with 3 consecutive goals immediately after that. Urhoghide, Anderson Julio and Pedrinho scored in the 64th, 69th and 81st minutes respectively to help FC Dallas come back to win 4-3.

This was Inter Miami’s first loss of the 2025 MLS season, dropping them to 5th place in the Eastern Conference standings with 18 points, 4 points behind leaders FC Cincinnati. But they still have a game in hand. This gap can be completely closed at any time, when Messi and his teammates turn their attention back to the MLS race in the coming time.

In the immediate future, Inter Miami has placed a big gamble and must prove its decisions are correct in the meeting with Vancouver Whitecaps FC at 7am on May 1, to overturn the 0-2 first leg loss and win a ticket to the CONCACAF Champions Cup final.

According to Mr. David Beckham, President and co-owner of Inter Miami, the goal of reaching the final and winning the CONCACAF Champions Cup is a big dream and he hopes Messi and his teammates will achieve it, despite the extremely difficult situation.

The CONCACAF Champions Cup still uses the away goals rule, so Inter Miami must win 2-0 to tie the score and 3-0 or more to qualify for the final. If the opponent scores at home, Coach Mascherano’s team will face double the difficulty.

This is the key reason why coach Mascherano made a risky decision, which is to rest all key players including Messi, Suarez, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and goalkeeper Oscar Ustari… to help them achieve their best physical condition and form in the decisive match against Vancouver Whitecaps FC.