The Inter Miami pre-season tour continues on Sunday as they battle the top players selected to the Hong Kong XI side in a friendly at Hong Kong Stadium.
It will be the first time since 2019 that players from the second-highest league in Hong Kong play in an exhibition encounter, while the Herons are still preparing for the upcoming Major League Soccer (MLS) campaign, losing their most recent pre-season fixture, 6-0 to Al-Nassr.
Match preview
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While the domestic campaign continues in the Hong Kong First Division League this weekend, a select few will have the honour of representing the league in a special game on Sunday.
Some of these players represented the Hong Kong national team at the Asian Cup earlier this year, and although the Dragons lost all three of their group fixtures at that tournament, they showed they could keep pace with some strong sides from the region.
Jorn Andersen guided the national team to their first appearance at the Asian Cup in over 50 years (since 1968), and the 60-year-old Norwegian will be coaching this group of second-tier all-stars on Sunday.
The last time players from this league competed against a club from outside Asia was at the 2019 Lunar New Year Cup, where the Hong Kong XI held their own, losing in the semi-finals on penalties to a Sagan Tosu side that featured former World Cup champion, Fernando Torres.
That group of Hong Kong players, however, managed to claim a small consolation that year with a 1-0 third-place victory over Auckland City at that tournament which took place in their home country.
While they only put together players from this league once every few years, it should be noted that the Hong Kong XI have yet to be beaten in normal time since losing 4-0 at the 2016 Lunar New Year Cup against a team made up of foreign players.
Sunday will be the first time that this group of all-stars will play a friendly game against a club from North America.
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Despite missing the MLS Cup playoffs in 2023, expectations are sky-high for Inter Miami as they prepare for the upcoming domestic campaign.
Adding Lionel Messi to the team in the middle of last season was not enough to get them above the post-season line, but the man voted the Best FIFA Men's Player in 2023 was nonetheless instrumental in their Leagues Cup triumph last year, the first-ever trophy for this club.
With an entire season ahead of them and a strong supporting cast, winning the MLS Cup will be the minimum requirement for this team in 2024.
While it is hard to take a lot from friendly matches like they have been playing in lately, Tata Martino's men are not in great form right now, winless in four pre-season fixtures, failing to score in three of those encounters.
Their six goals conceded against Al-Nassr at the beginning of February were the most this club had ever allowed in a single match, whether it be in the pre-season or any other competitive fixture.
Since 2020, their debut campaign in MLS, the Herons have never gone through an entire pre-season without winning at least one match, and they have only three more games to try to keep that run intact.
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Team News
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Yapp Hung Fai started the first two matches in goal for Hong Kong at the Asian Cup, with Tse Ka Wing getting the call on matchday three, while Oliver Gerbig and Everton Camargo also saw the field and were all selected to the Hong Kong XI for this friendly.
Chan Siu Kwan, who plays for Tai Po, was chosen for this match as well, and he netted the only goal for the national team at the Asian Cup, while Mahama Awal scored the last goal for the Hong Kong XI, netting the only goal versus Auckland City in 2019.
Gregore, who missed the majority of the 2023 MLS campaign for Miami, started his second pre-season fixture on Thursday as he and Leonardo Campana were the only two newcomers who did not begin their match against Al Hilal (4-3 loss) to feature in their previous match, replacing Messi and David Ruiz.
Messi, Luis Suarez and Ruiz were the last players to find the back of the net for them in the pre-season, the only three goals this team have scored thus far.
Hong Kong possible starting lineup:
Fai; Chow, Angel, Gerbig, Hall; Jantscher, Scott, Cleiton, Kwan; Gil, Awal
Inter Miami possible starting lineup:
Callender; Yedlin, Sailor, Allen, Alba; Taylor, Busquets, Farias; Borgelin, Messi, Suarez
We say: Hong Kong 0-3 Inter Miami
It is difficult to imagine a group of players who do not even feature in the top flight will be able to do much against a side in Miami who are littered with experience and still play at a high level, which is why we expect the Herons to win their first pre-season fixture of the year with ease.
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