Sports
Messi will be game-day decision for Miami in Leagues Cup semis | The Express Tribune
MIAMI:
Lionel Messi’s status for Inter Miami’s Leagues Cup semi-final against Orlando City will be a game-day decision after the Argentine star trained with his teammates, the MLS squad announced Tuesday.
Inter Miami assistant coach Javier Morales said the Herons will monitor both Messi and Jordi Alba before deciding whether they will be available for Wednesday’s home showdown against Orlando City.
“Jordi and Leo trained with us, they completed training. We’ll see how they feel as the day progresses, and tomorrow we’ll make a decision,” Morales said.
Morales called Messi completing his training workout “super positive” and added, “I imagine he’ll be in the squad at least.”
The Miami-Orlando winner will face the winner of Wednesday’s other semi-final between the reigning MLS champion Los Angeles Galaxy and Seattle Sounders in Sunday’s title game of the event, which included MLS and Mexican league clubs.
Messi, 38, sparked Miami to the 2023 Leagues Cup crown in his early days in South Florida.
But Messi missed Miami’s quarter-final victory a week ago over Tigres with a “minor” right leg muscle injury and did not play Saturday in Miami’s MLS draw at DC United.
Alba suffered a knee injury and departed in the second half against Tigres but both he and Messi handled practice with teammates on Monday and Tuesday.
Messi last played for the Herons in a reserve role against the Galaxy on August 16, scoring one goal and setting up another in Miami’s triumph.
“Whether Messi is or is not playing, I feel like we’ll have the same mentality — just to go out there and be the best and try and win,” Orlando back Alex Freeman said.
One guaranteed absentee for the Orlando-Miami showdown is Inter head coach Javier Mascherano, who was issued a red card in the Tigres match.
Orlando have won both matches against Miami this season by a combind 7-1 margin, including a 4-1 rout earlier this month.
“We know there’s a different setting prior to this match,” Orlando coach Oscar Pareja said. “But we have the same energy, the same strength, the same desire that has always characterized us in previous derbies.”
Morales said: “It’s probably the most important clasico that we’re going to play so far.”
After wrapping up its inaugural season, the Athletes Unlimited Softball League is expanding from its original four teams to six. That expansion kicks off on Dec. 1, with an expansion draft for players already in the AUSL, followed by an allocation draft for new players.
The two new expansion teams — Cascade and Oklahoma City Spark — will pick from a pool of unprotected players from the other four teams. Each team will select five players to start. After that, there may be up to three additional rounds, and original teams can add a player to their protected lists before each round. Any unselected players will go back to their original teams.
The allocation draft will follow and will feature all six teams selecting players not currently on an AUSL roster.
The draft will be broadcast on ESPNU (7 p.m. ET) and on the AUSL streaming hub. Check out the picks and some highlights below.
Expansion draft picks
No. 1: Spark — Utility Maya Brady
the moment Maya Brady became the first EVER draft pick of the Oklahoma City Spark in AUSL history! 💙#BeTheSpark pic.twitter.com/WT89vK28xX
— Oklahoma City Spark | AUSL (@ausl_spark) December 2, 2025
No. 2: Cascade — Pitcher Sam Landry
Let’s make some history ✨ pic.twitter.com/ycVUaHBtRX
— Cascade | AUSL (@AUSL_Cascade) December 2, 2025
No. 3: Cascade — Pitcher Carley Hoover
No. 4: Spark — Utility Sydney McKinney
No. 5: Spark — Sydney Romero
No. 6: Cascade — OF Sierra Sacco
No. 7: Cascade — P Payton Gottshall
No. 8: Spark — 3B Jessi Warren
No. 9: Spark — P Alana Vawter
No. 10: Cascade — OF Korbe Otis
No. 11: Cascade — INF Tori Vidales
No. 12: Spark — Utility Bubba Nickles-Camarena
No. 13: Spark — INF Delanie Wisz
Allocation draft picks
Round 1
No. 1: Cascade — P Kelly Maxwell
No. 2: Spark — C Kinzie Hansen
No. 3: Talons — OF Jayda Coleman
No. 4: Bandits — P Kat Sandercock
No. 5: Blaze — INF Alyssa Brito
No. 6: Volts — P Ally Carda
Round 2
No. 7: Spark — P Maddie Penta
No. 8: Cascade — C Mia Davidson
No. 9: Talons — OF Jadelyn Allchin
No. 10: Bandits — INF Jocelyn Alo
IT’S HAPPENINGGGGGG 🤩
Jocelyn Alo is a Bandit 🤠 pic.twitter.com/z6jD7ZORQJ
— Bandits | Athletes Unlimited Softball League (@AUSL_Bandits) December 2, 2025
No. 11: Blaze — INF Jenna Laird
No. 12: Volts — P Alyssa Denham
Round 3
No. 13. Cascade — INF Sis Bates
No. 14. Spark — P Jailyn Ford
No. 15. Talons — INF Rachel Becker
No. 16. Bandits — OF Jessica Clements
No. 17. Blaze — P Jala Wright
No. 18. Volts — OF Rylie Boone
Round 4
No. 19. Spark — INF Billie Andrews
No. 20. Cascade — INF Paige Sinicki
No. 21. Talons — INF Maddie Moore
No. 22. Bandits — INF Sami Williams
No. 23. Blaze — Utility Valerie Cagle
No. 24. Volts — P Aliyah Binford
Round 5
No. 25. Cascade — Utility Ali Newland
No. 26. Spark — INF Sydney Sherrill
No. 27. Talons — OF Aliyah Andrews
No. 28. Bandits — P Emiley Kennedy
No. 29. Blaze — Pass
Round 6
No. 30. Spark — C Haley Lee
No. 31. Cascade — OF Kendra Falby
No. 32. Talons — Pass
No. 33. Bandits — Pass
Round 7
No. 34. Spark — Pass
No. 35. Cascade — Pass
Teams will fill their remaining roster spots at the AUSL College Draft this spring.
After benefiting from good fortune in 2024, Washington is among the NFL’s unluckiest teams in 2025, according to metrics compiled by an NFL data scientist.
Source link
Kiffin wanted to stay at Mississippi through the College Football Playoff even after taking the job at LSU. That only made sense on television.
Source link
Pensioners Alert! Govt Asks Banks To Provide Pension Slip To Govt Employees On Monthly Basis
Athletes Unlimited Softball League: Expansion and allocation draft
China’s domestic cotton prices rise further as mill demand strengthens
-
Sports1 week agoWATCH: Ronaldo scores spectacular bicycle kick
-
Entertainment1 week agoWelcome to Derry’ episode 5 delivers shocking twist
-
Politics1 week agoWashington and Kyiv Stress Any Peace Deal Must Fully Respect Ukraine’s Sovereignty
-
Business1 week agoKey economic data and trends that will shape Rachel Reeves’ Budget
-
Politics1 week ago53,000 Sikhs vote in Ottawa Khalistan Referendum amid Carney-Modi trade talks scrutiny
-
Tech6 days agoWake Up—the Best Black Friday Mattress Sales Are Here
-
Tech2 days agoGet Your Steps In From Your Home Office With This Walking Pad—On Sale This Week
-
Fashion1 week agoCanada’s Lululemon unveils team Canada kit for Milano Cortina 2026