During the recent October FIFA international break, four Inter Miami CF players represented the Club abroad with their respective countries on the international stage. Lionel Messi, Diego Gómez and Leonardo Campana featured in CONMEBOL FIFA World Cup qualifiers, while Academy product Benjamin Cremaschi played a pair of friendlies with the U-20 USYMNT in Chile.
Messi helped Argentina collect four from six possible points this international window to continue leading the CONMEBOL 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers standings. First, our Club captain played the full 90 minutes as Argentina drew 1-1 against Venezuela on the road in Maturín, Venezuela on Oct. 10, before guiding Argentina to a 6-0 win at home in Buenos Aires on Oct. 15 with a masterful performance in his first appearance for the national team on home soil in 11 months. Messi’s masterclass saw him score a hat trick and dish out two assists.
With his hat trick against Bolivia, Messi extended his lead as the all-time leading scorer in CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers with 34 strikes in 67 appearances. He also leads his country in all-time goals for the national team, registering an impressive 89 goals in 112 total matches played for La Albiceleste to date.
The 2024 MLS 22 Under 22 winner featured for Paraguay in CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers as the team claimed a draw and a win. First, Gómez sat out to complete a yellow card suspension as Paraguay played out a hard-fought goalless draw on the road against Ecuador on Oct. 10, before being part of the starting XI and playing 80 minutes to help La Albirroja complete a comeback to earn a 2-1 win over Venezuela at home in Asunción on Oct. 15.
The striker returned to action for Ecuador in World Cup qualifiers. Our Club’s all-time leading scorer featured as a second-half substitute in La Tri’s 0-0 draw at home against Paraguay in Quito on Oct. 10, before remaining an unused substitute in the goalless draw on the road against Uruguay in Montevideo on Oct. 15.
The Academy product was part of the U-20 USMYNT’s roster for their international camp and friendlies in Santiago, Chile. Cremaschi and the U.S. U-20 side played two friendlies against Chile’s U-20 national team, splitting the series with a 3-0 win on Oct. 12 and 2-1 defeat on Oct. 15. Notably, our young Homegrown midfielder struck in each friendly fixture to close out the Oct. international window with two goals.
