FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. —Lionel Messiand strugglingInter Miamiremain a work in progress with two matches remaining before theFIFA Club World Cupnext month. Inter Miami, which had the best regular season in MLS history last year, is seventh in the MLS Eastern Conference after a recent stretch of just two wins, three draws and five losses in their last 10 matches across all competitions. Messi's side desperately needs a victory, but it isn't a forgone conclusion one could come Wednesday when Inter Miami hostsCF Montreal– ranked last place in the East, and second-to-last among all MLS teams. "Regardless of their position, I think if you watch Montreal's games, you'll see that in many of them they deserved much more than they got," Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano said before Tuesday's training session. Montreal enters the match after relinquishing leads and settling for draws at home against two standouts MLS clubs in their last three matches: They finished 1-1 againstColumbus Crewon May 14, and drew 2-2 againstLAFCon May 28. Inter Miami ousted LAFC from the Concacaf Champions Cup earlier this season. They beat Columbus Crew 1-0 on April 19, and will host the Crew on Saturday before preparing for the Club World Cup. Inter Miami enters the Montreal match after storming back with two late goals –a Messi free kick, and another assisted by Messi– in a 3-3 draw with the first-placePhiladelphia Unionlast Saturday. Overall, Inter Miami has conceded 23 goals while scoring 16 goals in their last 10 matches. "Above all, I want to prioritize and focus on ourselves, try to maintain what we've done in Philadelphia, improve in some areas – especially defensively – and get another win to boost the team's confidence," Mascherano said. Inter Miami hosts CF Montreal at Chase Stadium on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. ET. The match will be available to stream on MLS Season Pass via Apple TV. Messi is expected to play against Montreal, but his status will be confirmed when Inter Miami announces its starting lineup an hour before the match begins. May 24:Inter Miamisettles for 3-3 drawatPhiladelphia. May 18:Inter Miamiloses 3-0 at hometoOrlando City. May 14:Inter Miamiplays to 3-3 drawatSan Jose Earthquakes. May 10:Inter Miamiloses 4-1 on the roadtoMinnesota United. May 3:Inter Miamiwins 4-1 at homevs. theNew York Red Bulls. April 30:Inter Miami is eliminated aftera 3-1 loss(5-1 aggregate score) against theVancouver Whitecapsin their Concacaf Champions Cup semifinal. April 27:Inter Miamiloses 4-3 at hometoFC Dallas. April 24:Inter Miamiloses 2-0 on the roadto Vancouver in the first leg of their Champions Cup series. April 19:Inter Miamiwins 1-0atColumbus Crew. April 13:Inter Miami settles forscoreless drawon the road vs.Chicago Fire. Messi has been called up by the defending World Cup champions, and expected to play with Argentina for two qualifying matches for the 2026 tournament. Argentina will visit Chile on June 5 and host Colombia on June 10. May 28:Inter Miami vs. CF Montreal, 7:30 p.m. ET May 31:Inter Miami vs. Columbus Crew, 7:30 p.m. ET June 14:Inter Miami vs. Al Alhy, 8 p.m. ET (Hard Rock Stadium in Miami) June 19:Inter Miami vs FC Porto, 3 p.m. ET (Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta) June 23:Inter Miami vs. Palmerias, 9 p.m. ET (Hard Rock Stadium in Miami) This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Messi, Inter Miami vs CF Montreal: Time, TV, live stream Wednesday
