Lionel Messi substituted early in Inter Miami's win, raising World Cup concerns

Lionel Messi exited Inter Miami’s wild 6-4 win against the Philadelphia Union early on Sunday night, a worrying sight for the Argentina side he captains in his last game before he joins up with the national team for the 2026 World Cup.

Messi’s actions before being taken off did not appear to bother him and he was not limping when he came off the field. Amid a typical South Florida deluge, he had taken a free kick attempt in the 68th minute, and went on a dribbling run with an attempted through ball for an offside Ian Fray not long afterward with no apparent issue.

He spent the next several minutes playing mostly at walking pace, before rolling his shorts up and signaling for a substitution to the Miami bench while standing next to the sideline. Messi exited the game and went straight down the tunnel in the 73rd minute.

Multiple reports from observers at Nu Stadium said Messi was seen holding his leg, but this was not apparent on the broadcast at any point.

Inter Miami head coach said that the club did not yet have a medical report on Messi, but that he believed Messi was simply fatigued, with the pitch getting heavy due to the rain. However, it is highly unusual for Messi to be substituted out of a game for Inter Miami. The 38-year-old has played a full 90 minutes for every game in which he has appeared for Inter Miami this season, as well as the vast majority for which he was fit last season as Miami won MLS Cup.

Messi’s health will be closely monitored in the coming days given his importance to Argentina’s World Cup title defense, which begins in 23 days against Algeria in Kansas City. Before that, La Albiceleste has friendlies against Honduras on 6 June and Iceland on 9 June. They close the World Cup group stage with matches against Austria on 22 June and Jordan on 27 June.

Despite his stature with Argentina and globally as one of the game’s best-ever players, Messi had previously expressed some doubt he would be available for the 2026 World Cup, which begins in less than a month in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

“I would like to be there, to be well and be an important part of helping my team, if I am there,” Messi told NBC in an interview last year. “I’m going to assess that on a day-to-day basis when I start preseason next year with Inter (and see if I can really be 100%, if I can be useful and then make a decision.”

Messi has been in his usual great for Miami this season, scoring 12 goals and adding seven assists in 14 appearances so far for the defending champions.