Son Heung-min vs Messi for the first time on the U.S. stage confirmed, MLS official secretariat recognizes... A big twist. "Surprise Return."

*This content was translated by AI.

Los Angeles FC ace Son Heung-min (34) and soccer god Lionel Messi (39, Inter Miami) will face off all-time in the opening game of the U.S. Major League Soccer (MLS) in the 2026 season. The MLS secretariat was also confident that Messi would participate.

Son Heung-min's team LAFC will play Messi's Miami for the first time of the season at the LA Memorial Coliseum in LA, California at 11:30 a.m. on the 22nd (Korea time).

According to the MLS Secretariat, the game will be held at a historic stadium with a 102-year history. More than 60,000 spectators are expected to gather to watch Son Heung-min and Messi face off.

Earlier, there was an analysis that Messi's injury would likely lead to a showdown with Son Heung-min, but the situation suddenly turned around.

The official MLS channel said, "Messi has been resting recently due to a muscle injury in his lower body, but he returned to team training on the 18th and was ready to start."

Messi, who commanded the European stage, is also overwhelming on the MLS stage by sweeping the league championship, supporters' shields, two MVPs and golden boots.

Son Heung-min's momentum against this is hotter than ever. Son Heung-min showed a phenomenal performance with one goal, three assists, and four offensive points in the first round of the CONCACAF Champions Cup against Real Spain in San Pedro Sula, Honduras.

Son Heung-min, who was the central striker in the 4-3-3 formation at the time, scored a sharp through pass in the 11th minute of the first half after breaking through a solo dribble from the defense to break down the opponent's side at an explosive speed. Then in the 22nd minute, he played as a penalty kicker himself and scored by drilling through the bottom left of the goal. In the 24th minute, he connected an accurate pass to Dennis Buanga, who was rushing to the gate, and in the 39th minute, he helped Timothy Tillman's goal with a sharp cross from the right side to complete a hat trick.

It was a perfect performance. The statistics media "Foot Mob" gave Son Heung-min, who scored one goal and three assists in just 39 minutes, a 9.6 point rating. This is the second-best record in the team after Buanga (9.7 points) who scored a hat trick. "Sofa Score" also recognized Son Heung-min's strong performance, giving him a high score of 9.2 points.

Son Heung-min, who headed to the U.S. stage for the first time in his career last season, scored 12 goals and four assists in 13 games immediately after joining the team, ranking second overall in the league after Messi (68.9 minutes) in offensive point productivity per minute.

In particular, this opening game is the first face-off between Son Heung-min and Messi on the U.S. stage, and it is also a battle of pride between LAFC and Miami, which have the best MLS power.

Earlier, Son Heung-min and Messi faced off twice on the European stage. In Group B of the UEFA Champions League group stage in the 2018-2019 season, Son Heung-min played as a member of Tottenham Hotspur and Messi played as a key player for FC Barcelona.

In the first match, Son Heung-min scored one assist and Messi scored two goals, respectively. In the match held in Barcelona, Son Heung-min started and Messi replaced, respectively, but neither player scored an offensive point.

Son Heung-min will continue his great victory in the away game in Honduras and begin his full-fledged campaign of the season with a showdown with Messi on the 22nd.

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*This content was translated by AI.