AL Nassr VS Inter Miami CF Club Friendly Match Preview

January 31, 2024
Swapnendu Mukherjee
Sports
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Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami continues their pre-season tour in Saudi Arabia as they face Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr in Kingdom Arena on Thursday night.

Two of the most celebrated players of the 21st century will face each other again for one last dance. With a combined 13 Ballon d’Or between them, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will be facing each other for the 37th time, with the most recent encounter on 19th January, 2023, where PSG defeated Riyadh All Stars by 5-4. Ronaldo is now recovering from a minor ailment and racing against time to be ready for his reunion with Messi.

It might be a one-sided contest even though it is promoted as a rematch between two of the greatest players in football history. During their prime, the two were polar opposites in the legendary rivalry between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, with many of the games between the teams serving as showcases for the abilities of each player.

Inter Miami Team News

Although adding the likes of Lionel Messi, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busqets, Inter Miami did not have their best season as they finished 14th in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer. They managed to win only 9 out of 34, conceding 54 goals. But with the reunion of former FC Barcelona striker Luis Suarez from Gremio this winter, the Heron’s are looking forward to having a better 2024 ahead.

In their last match against Al Hilal on Monday, Inter Miami were defeated 4-3, courtesy of a 88th minute goal by Malcolm. Al Hilal had an early advantage to the match as Alexander Mitrovic already scored within the 10th minute. The lead was later doubled by Abdullah Al-Hamdan in the 13th minute. Although Suarez managed to reduce the difference by scoring his first goal for Inter Miami, Michael managed to recover the 2 goal lead for Al Hilal.

The Herons scored two successive goals as Lionel Messi calmly converted from the penalty spot in the 54th minute, followed by their homegrown midfielder David Ruiz scoring in the 55th minute. The match was put to bed by the 88th minute winner by Malcolm.
The team would be missing the services of Franco Negri, Ian Fray and Corentin Jean as they are out with cruciate ligament injuries. Facundo Farias is the most recent name to join this list as he picked up the same injury earlier this month.

Al Nassr Team News

Unlike Inter Miami, Al Nassr are having a bright season as they currently sit in the 2nd position in the Saudi Pro League, 7 points behind the table toppers Al Hilal. After signing the likes of Otavio, Sadio Mane, Aymeric Laporte, Sesko Fofana, Marcelo Brozovic and Alex Telles, the Saudi giants were able to put up a balanced performance in the first half of the season, winning 15 out of 19 matches.
Al Nassr were supposed to have a mid-season tour to China last week, but the two proposed friendlies against Shanghai Shenhua and Zhejiang were postponed as Cristiano Ronaldo suffered a muscle injury.

In an official statement, the Saudi Pro League said, “We are sad to announce that, unfortunately, and for reasons beyond Al Nassr’s control, the event comprising two matches scheduled on the 24th and 29th of January has been postponed to a date to be defined”.
Although the Portuguese star did not disclose the proper nature of his injury, he said, “As you know, in football some things you cannot control. I have played 22 years in football and I am a player that doesn’t have too many injuries. So I’m really sad because Al Nassr and I have come to China to enjoy the tour.”

Cristiano Ronaldo’s absence on Thursday night would be a real blow to the plans of the “Last Dance”, but there are no indications that the match would be canceled. Al Nassr would also be missing Sadio Mane as he would be busy managing his Nation duties in the AFCON Cup.