Inter Miami faces Atlanta without six key players due to international duty | OneFootball

The challenges continue for Inter Miami. Less than two weeks ago, Sergio Busquets announced his retirement from professional soccer, a decision that seemed inevitable after contract extension talks fell through.

The downside is that, yesterday, Jordi Alba, via social media, posted a video announcing he is following the same path as Busquets and will retire after this season.

Additionally, Lionel Messi and Rodrigo De Paul have been called up to represent Argentina in the upcoming friendly matches against Venezuela and Puerto Rico.

As a result, both players will be unavailable for Inter Miami's crucial clash against Atlanta United on Saturday. However, they were not the only Inter Miami players to be called to represent their national squad.

Inter Miami will have six players unavailable for the upcoming game against Atlanta United

Las Garzas must secure a victory on Saturday to improve their position in the Eastern Conference, maximize their home games at Chase Stadium, and avoid having to play in a different venue without the support of their fans.

However, Inter Miami will have six absences due to international duties, forcing Javier Mascherano to modify his tactical strategy for the match against the Five Stripes. The most complicated part is that El Jefecito loses players in all three areas of the field: attack, midfield, and defense.

We already mentioned that Messi and De Paul have their games against Venezuela on Friday and Puerto Rico next Monday. But who are the other four players that won’t be available for Mascherano?

Telasco Segovia: The Venezuelan forward will be part of the two-game trip with the national squad. After not qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, La Vinotinto will go all out against Argentina, which means Segovia will likely start, making his call-up for the match in Miami an obvious decision.

Mateo Silvetti: The recent signing of Inter Miami has been with Argentina’s under-20s national team for the U-20 World Cup. Silvetti qualified for the tournament round of 16. If Argentina continues at this pace, we won’t see Silvetti in the pink shirt for a long time.

Ian Fray: The starting right-back for the Herons has been called to play for Jamaica against Curazao on Friday and Bermudas on Tuesday. This will imply that Mascherano needs to figure out how to minimize the impact of not having Fray. It’s clear that Inter Miami will miss offensive power on the right side.