MIAMI — The preseason rehearsals end Friday night in Tampa for Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami teammates, who will face MLS rival Orlando City at Raymond James Stadium.

Messi is expected to play at least 45 minutes, and it will likely be similar for the other key starters, as they must preserve energy and not risk injury heading into a grueling first eight days of official competition.

Miami plays its Concacaf Champions Cup opening match on the road Tuesday against Sporting Kansas City, its MLS season opener four days later, on Feb. 22, at home against New York City FC, and then hosts the second leg of the Champions Cup three nights later on Feb. 25.

“We’re excited,” midfielder Julian Gressel said Thursday morning before training. “We’ve had a good preseason. It’s been a lot of fun to see these places, get quality games in and get ready for the year. … One last test on Friday. Guys are ready.”

Inter Miami is undefeated through four preseason games with new coach Javier Mascherano, who took over after Tata Martino’s unexpected resignation. It beat Mexican team Club America in Las Vegas, Universitario in Peru, San Miguelito in Panama and is coming off a 5-0 win against Olimpia in Honduras.

The team will have mostly the same look this season, with Messi, Luis Suarez, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets as the headliners. Leo Campana, Diego Gomez and Matias Rojas are gone. Campana is with New England Revolution, Gomez with Brighton in England and Rojas with River Plate in Argentina.

Miami’s 2025 roster includes six new players: midfielder Fafa Picault, midfielder Tadeo Allende, defender Gonzalo Lujan, goalkeeper Rocco Rios Novo, midfielder Telasco Segovia and defender Maxi Falcon.

Picault is Haitian-American and has South Florida roots. He spent his teen years in Cutler Bay, where his family still lives, and he attended Miami Killian High. Allende, Lujan and Rios Novo are from Argentina. Segovia is from Venezuela and Falcon is Uruguayan.

Mascherano has no MLS experience, and this is his first time coaching a professional club, but he is quite familiar with Messi, Busquets, Suarez and Alba, as he was their teammate with FC Barcelona and also played with Messi on the Argentine national team.

Mascherano was an elite center midfielder and defender throughout his career, so he brings that area of expertise to the club. Inter Miami had the best regular-season record in MLS history last season, and scored more goals than any other team, but showed some defensive weaknesses, which were partly to blame for failing to meet expectations with a first-round playoff exit.

Shoring up the defense has been a point of emphasis under Mascherano. He wants the team to be more organized and compact to avoid leaving large gaps between the back line and the attackers. The team has been employing a center block strategy to close those spaces.

“We have been working on shifting a lot,” Gressel said. “We’ve been doing a lot of video sessions on that, and getting those reps and experiences in. Obviously, Javier himself was a really good center mid and then defender, so he knows what it feels like on the field, so that certainly helps. But we still want to have the ball a lot and attack a lot.”

Center back David Martinez agreed. He is back to full speed after some of the preseason after requiring 11 stitches in his foot after being stepped on during a closed door scrimmage a few weeks ago. He also is getting adjusted to the birth of his first child, Emma.

“We are trying to adapt as quickly as we can to the new coaching staff and how they want us to play,” Martinez said. “There is a lot of focus on the defensive part of the game. We can see the results of the hard work we’ve been doing. The players we have are very attack-minded and the majority of games we are the ones attacking and now we are prepared to defend in a [center] block as well.”

How to Watch: Inter Miami vs. Orlando City kicks off at 7:30 and will be broadcast on Apple TV MLS Season Pass.

Fans celebrate new 'Euforia' jersey

Inter Miami hosted a season kickoff celebration in partnership with Royal Caribbean at Wynwood Marketplace on Wednesday. Fans got to purchase the new pink striped 'Euforia' jersey and saw the unveiling of a mural by artist JEKS that includes the faces of Messi, Alba, and South Florida’s Benja Cremaschi and Picault.

“It’s amazing to be here. I was born and raised in Miami. ... To see my face on a mural in such an important place in Miami is a dream. ... It’s a great jersey, the pink represents Miami very well,” Cremaschi said.

Picault added: “I think it’s incredible. Growing up down south in Miami, you’ve seen the transitions that Wynwood has taken. I’ve been coming here since I was a teenager, so seeing my face on a mural is incredible and it’s an emotional feeling. The kit represents the flair, the swag and the sazón of the city of Miami and its people. I think it’s a beautiful jersey.”

Messi sports drink to fuel Inter Miami

Ever since Messi arrived at Inter Miami in the summer of 2023, yerba mate, the caffeine-rich herbal drink and national beverage of Argentina, has been the drink of choice around the team’s training grounds.

Now, Messi has added another option to the beverage menu.

On Thursday, Inter Miami announced that Más+ by Messi, a sports drink launched by Messi, became the club’s Official Hydration Partner.

“It’s a huge honor and joy that Más+ by Messi is becoming a partner of Inter Miami,” Messi said in a news release. “When working on this drink, we aimed to provide hydration not only for elite athletes but also for amateurs and anyone looking to stay properly hydrated in their daily lives, while also benefiting from electrolytes and vitamins.”

The drink includes electrolytes, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and contains one gram of sugar and 10 calories per 16.9oz bottle.

Más+-branded coolers and towels will be on display at team trainings from the youth academy to the first team. The drink will also be available at Chase Stadium on match days.

It is the latest product in Messi’s vast business empire, which also includes a Messi cologne, a Messi/Bad Bunny joint signature sneaker and a Captain Messi superhero toy as part of his partnership with Hard Rock International.

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