Jamaicans inside the National Stadium will get the chance to see Argentina legend Lionel Messi live in the flesh. However, it remains to be seen whether he takes part in Inter Miami’s clash with Cavalier in the Concacaf Champions Cup round of 16 second leg this evening.

The 37-year-old, along with his teammates and Inter Miami technical staff, arrived at the Norman Manley International Airport on Wednesday evening, managing to avoid any major fanfare as he made his way through a private exit.

His arrival brought intensified interest from local fans after the former Barcelona superstar watched the 2-0 first-leg win over Cavalier last Thursday in Florida from the stands due to fatigue. He also missed Inter Miami’s 1-0 against Charlotte FC in Major League Soccer (MLS) on Sunday, although he did make the bench.

Messi, though, has been in active training during the past week including on Wednesday morning prior to Inter Miami’s departure for Kingston.

Head coach Javier Mascherano says he’s happy to have his captain available again but wouldn’t confirm whether he’d take part in the proceedings.

“He trained with the group [on Wednesday]; he did all the training, and the sensations were very good, so I am very happy that he will travel with us to Jamaica,” he said at the prematch press conference.

“[Today] we will decide on the day of the match, and I think it is for the best. If [Messi] starts, if he waits, and if he comes in later, we will see,” Mascherano added.

There had been talks that a factor in Messi’s arrival would be the condition of the pitch at the National Stadium, especially after concerns were raised due to images circulating online.

The Jamaica Observer has learnt that a team from Concacaf inspected the field on Tuesday and Wednesday with Independence Park Limited General Manager Major Desmon Brown assuring its readiness for the game.

Regardless of its state this evening, Mascherano says they won’t use it as an excuse.

“At this moment, we don’t know the field condition. But we need to go to play, do our job and try not to think about the field. The field is for both teams and we don’t like to give some excuses,” he said.

“At the end, obviously we prefer if the field is good, better for us for the way that we play. But anyway, we have to play in the condition that the field is,” Mascherano added.

Inter Miami are not just favourites to advance to the quarter-finals but to win the tournament due to their star names, including Luis Suarez who netted in the first-leg win.

However, Mascherano says he doesn’t plan on underestimating Cavalier, knowing what’s at stake.

“We know that tomorrow we are going to play a tough game for us. It’s a game that is very important, not just for this week but for the season because we had the chance to go through to quarter-finals,” he said.

Inter Miami will play fellow MLS club Los Angeles FC if they advance to the quarter-finals.