Why Lionel Messi's Inter Miami might be in trouble as World Cup qualifiers, USMNT friendlies take place

Tata Martino's squad will be without many key players including their World Cup-winning Argentine

With the international break in full swing, most leagues around the world will be pausing but one that won't is Major League Soccer. The league has always continued to play during FIFA breaks due to running a non-European schedule but it creates a few more issues than normal with Lionel Messi now in the league with Inter Miami. While the Herons are pushing for a playoff spot, Messi is now joining up with Argentina for CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers, creating quite a conundrum for Tata Martino and Inter Miami.

The club has leaned on Messi heavily since he joined going undefeated in all competitions behind 11 goals and five assists from him in only 11 games played. Already having helped lead the Herons to a trophy in the Leagues Cup, there is no denying Messi's impact on the club as Miami have gone from being one of the worst teams in the league to one of the best. 

The Herons were already a team that was heavily reliant on their forwards before Messi's arrival so it only makes sense that they've been filtering play through Messi but his involvement has been through the roof. In MLS play -- which is a small sample size -- Messi has been involved in 52.2% of their total expected goals while also taking 45% of Miami's shots despite only accounting for 10% of their touches. When Messi gets the ball, good things happen and he doesn't need much of the ball to accomplish that.