MIAMI, Florida – The eagerly anticipated Inter Miami debut of Argentina superstar and 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup winner Lionel Messi highlights the start of the 2023 Leagues Cup on Friday.

Messi’s potential path to the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup begins with a date against Mexican giants and six-time Concacaf champions Cruz Azul in South Group 3 at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

With the top three finishers in the Leagues Cup qualifying for the 2024 Champions Cup, a win on Matchday 1 would be the ideal way for Messi and his new Inter Miami teammates to start their journey.

Cruz Azul will be unfazed by all of the attention centered around this affair. La Maquina are guided by Head Coach Ricardo Ferretti and are bolstered by new center back Carlos Salcedo. Those two were part of the Tigres side that captured the 2020 Champions Cup.

South Group 2 will begin with MLS sides Orlando City SC and Houston Dynamo squaring off at Exploria Stadium in Orlando, Florida.

Orlando City reached their first ever Champions Cup in the 2023 edition, while Houston are seeking a return to the tournament for the first time since the 2019 edition.

It will be a MLS vs. Liga MX battle at Q2 Stadium in Austin, Texas when Austin FC take on Mazatlan FC in South Group 1.

Austin FC are hoping to return to the Champions Cup for a second straight year, while Mazatlan FC are appearing in their first international competition.

Another all-MLS duel on the docket is FC Dallas against Charlotte FC as part of South Group 4 at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.

2016-17 Champions Cup semifinalists FC Dallas last appeared in a Concacaf tournament in the 2018 edition, while Charlotte FC, just in their second year of existence, will be participating in their first international tournament.

Rounding out the schedule of Friday’s games is a West Group 3 affair between 2023 Concacaf Champions Cup winners Club Leon of Liga MX and the Vancouver Whitecaps at BC Place in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Club Leon lifted the Champions Cup trophy in June by defeating Los Angeles FC in the 2023 Final and now take aim at another trophy, beginning against a Vancouver side that reached the quarterfinals of the 2023 Champions Cup.