First Touches
- Atlanta United will wear the 17s' kit.
- This will be Atlanta's first match of Leagues Cup 2023. More information about the inaugural tournament can be found here.
- Machop Chol will be unavailable for Atlanta United. View this week's Availability Report presented by Piedmont.
Match Details
- Date: Tuesday, July 25
- Kickoff time: 7:30 p.m.
- Location: DRV PNK Stadium
- Tickets: View tickets
How to watch, listen and live stream Inter Miami CF vs. Atlanta United
- TV: Watch on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
- Listen: Local radio 92.9 The Game and La Mejor
- Live stream: Watch on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app or visit https://tv.apple.com/.
- Follow along: Follow the match with realtime stats and live play-by-play on our Matchday Hub page.
Related Content:
- Atlanta United uses break to prepare for first Leagues Cup match at Inter Miami
- Tools to the Match: How Atlanta United begins Leagues Cup group play with a positive result
- Who's in and who's out against Inter Miami? View this week's Availability Report presented by Piedmont
- How Lionel Messi's move to Inter Miami impacts MLS and Atlanta United
Recent Form
Atlanta is looking to regain some momentum after a 10-day break following back-to-back losses in the MLS regular season. Atlanta fell 2-1 to New England on the road, then suffered just its second loss at home to Orlando City SC. On the other end, Miami and Cruz Azul opened up South 3 group play on Friday. In his team debut, Lionel Messi scored the game-winning goal off a free kick in the 94th minute to secure three points for Miami.
Series History and Last Meeting
Miami has a slight edge over Atlanta in the series history with a record of 4-3-3. Miami's fourth win came earlier this season at DRV PNK Stadium when it defeated the 5-Stripes 2-1 behind a second-half brace from former Atlanta striker Josef Martínez.
Players To Watch
Giorgos Giakoumakis (Atlanta United) – The Greek striker will hopefully make his return to the starting lineup for the first time since July 2 when he suffered a hamstring injury against D.C. United. Giakoumakis earned some minutes against Orlando and last week at the 2023 MLS All-Star Game; however, the 5-Stripes are looking forward to their leading scorer bringing his energy and attacking the goal from minute one.
Lionel Messi (Inter Miami) – As if the excitement around the Argentine midfielder wasn't enough, Messi's performance on Friday proved even more why he will be one of the most dangerous players on the field for Miami. In less than 40 minutes of play, he took three shots and had a 92% pass accuracy to complement his walk-off goal.
Head Coach Gonzalo Pineda on limiting Messi's effectiveness in the game:
"My philosophy, how I take the best way to limit a very good player... is don't give him the ball. It's having the ball more than them, having good possession. We know he can be very dangerous, but also it's the connection. (Sergio) Busquets is very good at finding him in the pockets. I think if we can deal with that, have the ball more than them, we're going to be OK."
Captain and goalkeeper Brad Guzan on getting in the right mindset before the match:
"It's exciting of course, when you get to play against one of the best players in the world, if not the best. But when we get on that plane to go down there, it's about going down there to get a result. It's about going down there for work and being focused and concentrating for however long we need to, in terms of 90 minutes, penalties, whatever it may be."
Global competition
Leagues Cup, an annual month-long tournament featuring all clubs from MLS and Liga MX, runs July 26-August 25.
