Lionel Messi has been paying attention to the national team of the country he now calls home — and he likes what he sees.
The Inter Miami star said he has been impressed with the U.S. men’s national team’s recent performances, particularly in the 2022 World Cup.
The USMNT went unbeaten in its group, drawing Wales and England before clinching a spot in the knockout round with a win over Iran. The team’s World Cup came to an end with a 3-1 defeat to the Netherlands in the last 16.
Messi, whose own World Cup went slightly better than the USMNT’s, said in an interview with ESPN that his new country’s national team and league is growing in quality.
“I think that soccer in the U.S. has grown a lot in this last year,” Messi said. “It has shown that in the results the national team has had lately. It was a great squad in the World Cup, too. Very competitive. It held its own against every team it had on its slate. It’s getting closer and closer to the level of Mexican soccer.”
Messi cites growth of US Soccer.
“Great national team. . Very competitive, every game they competed.” #USMNT
Then goes on to talk MLS vs Liga Mx.
Mentioned circumstances in Leagues Cup for/against Liga MX, and said 🇲🇽 is a very competitive league.
— herculez gomez (@herculezg) August 17, 2023
Messi has led Inter Miami to the Leagues Cup final on Saturday at Nashville SC, scoring nine goals in just six matches to help completely revitalize his new team.
The 36-year-old said the tournament has been highly competitive, which is what he’s expecting when he plays his first MLS matches as well.
“This Leagues Cup demonstrated that [MLS is getting closer to Liga MX],” he said. “There is no Mexican team in the final. While you can question a lot of things, the reality is all the matches were very close, very competitive. Anybody can beat anyone else. I get the sense that the same happens in [MLS]. It’s a competitive one where anybody can win. One where the home team is strong, and it’s difficult to win away. I’ll still be getting to know a little bit of that after my first match.”
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