Preview

Inter Miami travel to Atlanta for their second league meeting of the season against the United on Saturday.

Lionel Messi has been involved in 16 Miami goals in 11 games across all competitions since debuting with the club on July 21. Messi has 11 goals and five assists in that span.

But he won't be playing in the match, multiple media outlets reported. Coming off of duty with Argentina's national team, Messi did not make the trip to Atlanta.

Why isn't Messi playing vs Atlanta?

Reason: Fatigue

The September USWNT roster for two friendlies vs. South Africa was revealed on Tuesday with 27 players set to be in the national team camp. Each friendly will also serve as a farewell match for Julie Ertz and Megan Rapinoe.

Ertz will play her final game on Thursday, Sept. 21 at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio. Rapinoe’s last appearance for the national team will be Sunday, Sept. 24 at Soldier Field in Chicago.

Here are the 27 players that USWNT interim head coach Twila Kilgore named to the roster.

We’re going to get to see Julie Ertz play for the United States women’s national team one last time. The 31-year-old midfielder/defender announced her retirement from the sport on Aug. 31 but will return for a send-off game.

When is Julie Ertz last game?

Ertz’s last game will on Thursday, Sept. 21 at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Fans wondering how many Americans play in Champions League action this season will be pleased to know that nine USMNT players will compete in the competition.

The Champions League draw took place on Thursday and now we know who all the Americans will be facing in the group stage. 

Ticket prices are soaring in Harrison, N.J., and not because the New York Red Bulls are inching closer in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

With Lionel Messi on the other side of the pitch for his anticipated MLS regular-season debut with Inter Miami, the host Red Bulls are out to keep their focus and improve their place in the standings Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Messi won a club-record 34 trophies for Barcelona in Spain's LaLiga, and already has a Leagues Cup title with Inter Miami, though it is possible that the 36-year-old could enter as a substitute Saturday.

Lionel Messi has won just about everything there is to win in soccer but said on Thursday that bringing Inter Miami their first ever trophy would be "incredible" and "a beautiful thing".

Languishing at the bottom of Major League Soccer's Eastern Conference standings there had been nothing pretty about Inter Miami's season until Messi's arrival in South Florida last month.

But now things could not look any brighter.

There can be zero question over the value of MLS Season Pass on Apple TV now. Lionel Messi's arrival at Inter Miami turned the streaming service into the hottest thing since the first guy to open a sandwich shop, and it certainly doesn't hurt when you also get to see Sergio Busquets apply tennis ball-like spin to his entry passes in 1080p. Oh, Jordi Alba's here too.  

So when does Messi play again? Messi next match for Miami is part of a string of fixtures coming in hot for the Herons as they fight on three fronts: Leagues Cup, U.S. Open Cup and MLS.

The United States women's national team is still heavily favored to move on to the knockout rounds, but a small chink in the armor of the two-time defending Women's World Cup champions has caused a ripple effect at sportsbooks.

The USWNT needs to earn at least a point against Portugal at Auckland, New Zealand, early Tuesday (3 a.m. ET) to guarantee it advances out of Group E.

AUCKLAND - Holders United States arrived at the Women's World Cup as favorites to win an unprecedented third straight title but their place in the tournament will be on the line when they take on Portugal in Tuesday's Group E showdown in Auckland.

The Americans, who have never been eliminated from the group stage in World Cup history, have not yet hit peak form. They beat minnows Vietnam 3-0, and a 1-1 draw with the Netherlands left both teams locked on four points.

AUCKLAND - The United States are built to handle the pressure of their do-or-die final group stage match, veteran Megan Rapinoe said, with everything on the line against Portugal on Tuesday at the Women's World Cup.

The four-times champions have never exited in the group stage but may suffer that fate without a win or a draw against the World Cup debutantes, after beating Vietnam in the opener and settling for a 1-1 draw to the Netherlands.

It is hardly the position fans imagined the team would be in as they pursue an unprecedented third consecutive title.