'Son Heung-min and Messi play for one team.' MLS All-Star confirmed to face Mexico All-Star in July

*This content was translated by AI.

The schedule for the 2026 MLS All-Star Game, where the U.S. Major League Soccer All-Star and the Mexican professional football Liga MX All-Star will clash, has been confirmed. Although the All-Star list has not been confirmed yet, the MLS secretariat put Son Heung-min (Los Angeles FC) and Lionel Messi (Inter Miami) on the front of the poster, expressing expectations for the two representing MLS.

The MLS Secretariat said on the 3rd (Korea Standard Time), "MLS All-Star and Liga MX All-Star will clash at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte on July 29. On the previous day, he officially announced that he will show off his skills through the MLS All-Star Skill Challenge.

This is the third consecutive MLS All-Star game between MLS and Liga MX All-Stars. In the previous four showdowns, the MLS All-Star team led with 3 wins and 1 loss. "The 2026 MLS All-Star Game will be an unmissable game played by the best players in MLS and Liga MX," said Camilo Durana, vice president of MLS.

According to the MLS Secretariat, the MLS All-Star consists of a total of 26 members. 11 will be selected through fan voting, 13 will be selected as MLS All-Star coach, and two will be selected by MLS Commissioner Don Garber. The schedule and method of fan voting will be disclosed later.

Son Heung-min's first participation in the MLS All-Star Game is a given. Since joining Los Angeles FC last summer, he has been playing as the best superstar representing MLS beyond LAFC. There is a high possibility that he will compete with Messi for the first place in the fan vote. Even if he is excluded from the fan vote, the possibility of Son Heung-min being excluded from the MLS All-Star coach or commissioner's "Pick" is slim not only in terms of skills but also in terms of box office.

Thanks to this, Son Heung-min and Messi can be seen wearing the same uniform and working together. In other words, Son Heung-min and Messi's "joint goal" could embroider the MLS All-Star Game. MLS's top rival, who is competing for the MLS title, will be on the same team on this day and face the representative players of the Mexican league.

The "variable" is whether Messi will participate in the All-Star Game. Messi was also selected as an MLS All-Star in 2024 and 2025, but all of them were absent. He refused to play in 2024 due to injury and in 2025 despite the mandatory provisions. In the end, the MLS secretariat suspended Messi for one game. With Son Heung-min, who is so serious about fan service, unlikely to miss the MLS All-Star Game, the "dream combination" of Son Heung-min and Messi at the forefront could become a reality if even Messi decides to play in the All-Star Game.

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*This content was translated by AI.