Lionel Messi and the rest of Inter Miami’s key starters are expected to play extended minutes Sunday as the team faces Sporting San Miguelito in Panama City, Panama.

The preseason match, which kicks off at 5 p.m., is the third in the club’s Americas Tour, which also includes a game against Olimpia in Honduras next Saturday. Miami won its first two preseason games in penalty kick shootouts against Mexican team Club America and Universitario of Peru.

New coach Javier Mascherano, who took over in December after the unexpected departure of Tata Martino, said he is pleased with what he has seen thus far from Messi and the rest of the team.

“Leo is doing very well, on schedule as far as what we had planned,” Mascherano said before Friday’s training session. “The first game the idea was to give him 60 minutes. On Wednesday, he did a little more, 70 minutes, as we knew we had another game four days away. The idea is to give everyone as many minutes as possible.”

Fans can expect to see a similar lineup to the one Mascherano used against Universitario on Wednesday: Messi, Luis Suarez, Fafa Picault, Tadeo Allende, Fede Redondo, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, Noah Allen, Tomas Aviles, Marcelo Weigandt and Oscar Ustari in goal.

Ustari, a 38-year-old Argentine who is friends with Messi, recently signed a contract extension. Drake Callender, who started for Miami the past two seasons, is recovering from an adductor muscle strain he sustained while with the U.S. national team in its January camp. Callender was on the practice field Friday, doing a limited workout.

Mascherano said they are taking it slow with Callender, as that type of injury can be slow to heal, especially for goalkeepers, who must move side to side.

The game Sunday will offer another chance for newly signed Allende to get acclimated to the team. The 25-year-old Argentine winger was signed on loan from Spanish club Celta Vigo. Along with Picault, Allende was brought in to add pace to the wings in an effort to integrate deeper passes into the attack.

“In Tadeo we are looking for a player who gives us depth,” Mascherano said. “Last year the team played shorter passes to the feet, and we thought we needed players who would allow us to use deeper passes into space. We think Tadeo can do that. Obviously, he has been here only a short time, we must give him time to adapt.

“But we think he has great potential. He’s a young man whom I have followed since his start at Godoy Cruz in Argentina. I saw his progress and think he can help us a lot.”

Allende signed a four-and-a-half-year contract with Celta Vigo in January 2025, scored three goals in 13 games for the Spanish club, but was looking for more playing time and said the move to Miami made sense.

Playing alongside a legend like Messi is a bonus, he said.

“Like everyone else, I had seen him on T.V. for so long, so to have him as a teammate is incredible,” Allende said. “The four of them, really [Messi, Suarez, Busquets, Alba]. Because all of them are legends. It is exciting to see them as teammates, but also there is pressure because we are learning and have to do things correctly because they are so competitive, and we have to be at their level.”

He said he tried to remain calm when he first met Messi and hopes to get to know him better with time.

As for what he brings the team, Allende said: “I go into space a lot. I can assist and I can score. I can also help with defense. We have to find space when Leo has the ball at his foot, and the same for Luis, so they can find us.”

Venezuelan midfielder Telasco Segovia and Argentine defender Gonzalo Lujan, who signed with Miami in recent weeks, are finalizing their visa paperwork and it is unknown if they will be available Sunday.

Inter Miami bolstered its back line on Saturday with the addition of Uruguayan defender Maximiliano “Maxi” Falcon from Chilean first division champion Colo Colo.

Falcon, 27, signed a contract through the 2028 season with an option for 2029. The center back is awaiting his P-1 Visa and International Transfer Certificate (ITC), so he is not expected to be available for the game Sunday.

He played at Colo Colo the past four seasons and previously played for Club Atlético Rentistas (2019 to 2020) in Uruguay. He has made 195 appearances throughout his career at club level, including 24 in the Copa Libertadores, recording 10 goals and two assists.

Falcon has been part of seven championship teams, one with Rentistas and six with Colo Colo.

“I’m thrilled to join such an important club like Inter Miami for this first chapter of my career playing outside of South America,” he said. “My goal is to give my all to help the Club and my new teammates succeed and win titles.”

Mascherano said the preseason tour has been challenging and will serve the team well as it prepares for the Concacaf Champions Cup opener Feb. 18 against Sporting Kansas City and the MLS season opener Feb. 22 against NYCFC.

“We have played against two champions — against a three-time champion (in Club América) and against a two-time champion (Universitario) of leagues that are important,” Mascherano said.

The game Sunday in Panama will be livestreamed at 5 p.m. on intermiamicf.com

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