Inter Miami CF kicked off the Riyadh Season Cup, and the Club’s historic international tour of Asia, with a matchup against Al-Hilal at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The thrilling preseason friendly in the Saudi capital resulted in a 4-3 win for Al-Hilal, with striker Luis Suárez, captain Lionel Messi and Homegrown midfielder David Ruiz scoring the Club’s first goals of the year. Additionally, the match saw Inter Miami don the Club’s newly released 2024 Pink Primary Kit, The 2getherness Jersey, for the first time.
Lineup Notes
Inter Miami fielded an unchanged starting XI from the team’s last preseason match. Drake Callender started in goal; Jordi Alba, Noah Allen, Sergii Kryvtsov, Tomás Avilés, and DeAndre Yedlin formed a backline of five; Ruiz, Sergio Busquets and Julian Gressel started in midfield; Messi and Suárez led the team in attack.
Match Action
The exciting preseason friendly presented an action-packed first 45 minutes. Notably, Suárez got off the mark with the Club in the 34th minute as the match went into the half with a 3-1 lead for the hosts.
The second half then started with a bang, with Inter Miami netting back-to-back strikes to equal the scoring early on. First, Ruiz was brought down inside the box before Messi converted from the spot in the 54th minute.
Then, in the 55th minute, Ruiz received a long ball from Messi on the left side of the box, where the young Homegrown midfielder cut in to his right, leaving two defenders behind with nifty footwork in the process, before unleashing a powerful shot that beat the goalkeeper at the near post to tie the match at 3-3.
In the end, despite the team’s efforts to take the lead, Al-Hilal scored the goal to make it 4-3 in the 88th minute.
2getherness Jersey
Inter Miami CF unveiled the Club’s 2024 Pink Primary kit on Monday and donned it for the first time in the preseason fixture against Al-Hilal. The kit, named The 2getherness Jersey, represents the duality of the South Florida-based Club.
The newly released 2024 Inter Miami CF 2getherness Jersey features key details such as a new, deeper shade of pink (easy pink), a subtle ‘M’ pattern in the stitching of the fabric, and the motto of the Club, Freedom to Dream, on the back of the neck, and Libertad Para Soñar on the jocktag.
Next Match
Up next, Inter Miami will play its second 2024 preseason fixture in Riyadh this Thursday, Feb. 1, when the team faces Al Nassr at 1 p.m. ET at the Kingdom Arena.
