The2026 MLS seasonkicks off on Saturday night with acollision between soccer icons.
The Opening Night matchup features LAFC hosting reigning MLS Cup champion Inter Miami at BMO Stadium. The match marks Lionel Messi’s first and only scheduled trip to Los Angeles this season, as his arrival carries with it the weight of the man who wears the crown.
Across from the2025 MLS MVPstands Hollywood’s newest leading man wearing black and gold. Son Heung-min, the captain of the South Korea national team — and now the newfound leader of LAFC’s championship aspirations.
If MLS wanted a billboard for what it has become, this match is it.
Last time Messi visited LAFC. 🍿Watch Walmart Saturday Showdown (9:30pm ET) as@LAFChosts@InterMiamiCFat LA Memorial Coliseum on Apple TV 📺pic.twitter.com/K0IytlPnk9
Last year,Messi lifted the MLS Cup in Miamiand waved goodbye to familiar Barcelona shadows. This winter, Miami reloaded like a club chasing a dynasty, not nostalgia. They added Dayne St. Clair in goal, reinforced their back line and brought in Germán Berterame to free up Messi to operate as the No. 10 again. On paper, it’s the deepest roster MLS has seen in years.
But on the pitch, it comes with a glaring target for opponents.
And that target now has to prepare for the bright lights of Los Angeles.
LAFC enters its first full season with Son, who detonated onto theleague last summer after leaving Tottenham.Sonny had 12 goals and four assists in 13 matches, and nearly led the black and gold back to the MLS Cup Final, if not for a dramatic penalty-kick shootout in Vancouver that sawSon miss the PK that would have sent LAFC to the Final.
Denis Bouanga, the Gabonese flamethrower, piled up 24 goals andnearly stole the Golden Boot award from Messi.Early transfer rumors andoffers from other clubs had Bouanga leaving the club for Brazil,but as of now, LAFC has hung on to its star in the hopes that a full season together with Son will lead to more hardware for the black and gold.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
