Messi practices in the rain with Argentina, Inter Miami teammates stay focused on MLS

The eyes of the soccer world turn to Germany on Friday for the start of the month-long 2024 European Championships, commonly known as Euro 2024.

Next week, the global soccer schedule goes into overdrive with the kickoff of Copa America 2024, the quadrennial South American championship, which this year is being held in the United States and includes six teams from North and Central America and the Caribbean.

During the next five weeks, fans the world over will be riveted (and distracted from work) as the most famous names in the game play for national pride and build toward the two tournaments’ July 14 championship matches.

The Copa America final is being held at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, and defending champion Argentina, led by captain Lionel Messi, is the heavy favorite to lift another trophy. Argentina’s national team is using the Inter Miami facility as its home base during Copa America, practiced there in the rain on Tuesday and had a training session scheduled for Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Messi’s MLS team, Inter Miami, will play on without him. The Argentine star could miss as many as six league games.

Luis Suarez (Uruguay) and Matias Rojas (Paraguay) are also on national team duty and on hiatus from Inter Miami. Benjamin Cremaschi (USA), Diego Gomez (Paraguay), and Fede Redondo (Argentina) might miss games if they get called up to play in the Paris Olympics in July.

Unlike most of the leagues around the world, MLS plays through the summer and does not follow the FIFA International Match Calendar, which means potentially more than 40 players will miss games during the Euros, Copa America and the Olympics.

Inter Miami midfielder Julian Gressel, a native of Germany who has lived in the United States since college, is just as excited about following the international tournaments as anyone. He plans to watch Germany vs. Scotland in the Euro opener Friday afternoon as his team prepares to face the Philadelphia Union on the road Saturday night.

Gressel said he will be tuned in again next Wednesday for Germany vs. Hungary, hours before Inter Miami plays at home against the Columbus Crew. He intends to watch carefully as Messi plays with Argentina, hoping to pick up details that could prove useful later this season.

Known for his leadership skills, Gressel will take on an even bigger role in the absence of Messi and Suarez. One of his goals is to keep his team focused on MLS while the rest of the world buzzes about Euros and Copa.

Having Messi and his Argentina teammates around is yet another reminder of the magnitude of Copa America, but Gressel insists he and his teammates are not distracted from league play.

“It’s our day job,” Gressel said Wednesday morning before training. “We have to make sure that we are clued in. Guys that are more experienced really need to emphasize that and not get too carried away by all these tournaments.

“I think we a mature enough group to kind of say, `Hey, we’re still here to compete on our level and to win these games that we have coming up while the tournaments are going on and then when we all reconvene for after the tournament for Leagues Cup and that last part of the MLS season, that’s when we really need to push’.”

Inter Miami proved it can win without Messi, Suarez and Sergio Busquets a few weeks ago with a 2-1 road win at Vancouver.

“I’m trying to give these guys confidence, whatever lineup we’ll have on Saturday and then obviously leading up to the other games,” Gressel said. “Trying to get guys that haven’t played as many minutes maybe in the months before now to really you know take ownership of this team and really be like okay, this is now this is our time to you know, keep the train rolling.”

Miami has the best record in MLS with 35 points through 18 games with 16 regular-season games left to go.

“We want to be top of the supporter shield standings at the end of the season, every game is a big part of that, and I’m trying to make it clear to guys that this is our time and we can we can do it without these guys as well,” Gressel said.

Winger Robert Taylor and forward Leo Campana have stepped up when called upon and will be counted on even more over this stretch. Gressel and center back Ryan Sailor said another focus in the coming games is avoiding defensive mistakes, which led to conceding six goals over the past two games.

Inter Miami has not played since June 1. Sailor feels the team is energized and refreshed after the break.

“It was nice to get a few days to ourselves, to reset and then come in hungry again,” said Sailor, who spent the break with his girlfriend in Seattle. “Even though we’re missing some guys, we still think we have a really strong roster and are feeling pretty confident after our game in Vancouver. We got to prove to ourselves that even though we were missing those big players, we still have more big players on our team.”

Notes: Midfielder Diego Gomez, who has been out six weeks with an ankle injury, trained on his own on the field Wednesday and is working his way into shape…Shanyder Borgelin, the Haitian-American forward and Fort Lauderdale native, partnered with team sponsor Lowe’s to provide free haircuts to children in need at the Overtown Optimist Club on Tuesday. The initiative was part of Men’s Mental Health Month, and focused on the importance of self-care, mental well-being and community empowerment.