Messi faces challenges in MLS debut; implications for his World Cup performance?
LOS ANGELES — After LAFC scored their third goal on Saturday night, which ignited a frenzy among the over 75,600 fans present at the LA Coliseum, a supporter wearing an Argentina jersey dashed onto the field and quickly made his way towards Inter Miami star Lionel Messi.
This scenario is typical at events featuring the 2022 World Cup champion, but on this occasion, the celebratory music was not in his honor, as Miami was trailing 3-0. Indeed, in Messi’s first official match of 2026 with the reigning MLS Cup champions, the early chapters of the Hollywood narrative being crafted for him in another World Cup year did not unfold as anticipated.
Prior to Saturday’s high-profile MLS opening weekend clash against Son Heung-min’s LAFC, there were concerns regarding Messi’s participation due to a hamstring injury sustained during Miami’s preseason friendly in February.
At 38 years old, it was reasonable to be concerned not only about his start to the MLS season but also to speculate whether this could indicate potential issues for this summer’s World Cup. Messi has yet to fully commit to participating in the tournament with Argentina and has been candid about his fitness being a consideration.
“I would like to be there. To feel well and to be an important part of helping my national team, if I am there,” Messi stated back in October. “I will evaluate that on a daily basis when I begin preseason next year with Inter [Miami] and see if I can truly be at 100%. I’m very eager because it’s the World Cup.”
However, despite Miami head coach Javier Mascherano confirming on Friday that the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner was “training at the same level as the rest of the team all week,” Miami’s No. 10 appeared to be off his game against LAFC.
In the opening 10 minutes, Messi’s touch seemed unexpectedly inaccurate, as did the timing of his passes. His distribution did improve over time, and he was somewhat unfortunate not to record an assist, but the same could not be said for his shooting, as he failed to hit the target even once.
Messi was not alone in his struggles. Whether it was due to adapting to new striker Germán Berterame’s presence or the captain’s less-than-stellar performance, Miami struggled to gain momentum until LAFC took a 1-0 lead with a goal from David Martínez, assisted by Son.
The 33-year-old South Korean international has his own ambitions ahead of the World Cup after departing Tottenham Hotspur last year, and it was notable for a match featuring Messi just how many LAFC fans—many wearing jerseys with Son’s name—significantly outnumbered those in the pink kit of arguably the greatest soccer player in history.
Messi did not receive overwhelming cheers when he had possession of the ball. In fact, at one point late in the game, when he fell to the ground and did not receive a foul call, a chorus of boos erupted from numerous supporters in the LA Coliseum.
“No, no, no I didn’t see anything,” Mascherano remarked postmatch when asked if his captain appeared upset about the refereeing decisions or the overall result. “The truth is that the match ended, and then I went into the locker room.”
After goals from Denis Bouanga and Nathan Ordaz sealed a 3-0 defeat for Miami, Messi quickly swapped jerseys with Bouanga following the final whistle and then promptly exited the field first.
So, after one loss, is it too soon to be concerned about Messi’s Miami?
“The reality is that they beat us fair and square, that’s the truth,” Mascherano stated afterwards. “I think it’s often challenging to explain a 3-0 loss, but my initial assessment gives me the impression that the result was somewhat misleading. The game, as it transpired, did not show a significant difference.”
“As coaching staff, we need to analyze the game, not just the outcome, because if we only focus on the result, we are making decisions solely based on winning or losing. I believe that during the game, we observed elements of the style of play we desire, which we need to enhance.”
Messi will need to elevate his performance, but to be fair to him, we should not overreact after his first game of the year. Mascherano recently indicated that the 38-year-old was fit enough to return to full-team training, but given that the forward was just recovering from a hamstring injury, it is not surprising that he was slightly off the pace.
Doubting Messi is a futile endeavor, and he did not have a completely poor performance on Saturday. In fact, he made several threatening passes that should have resulted in at least one goal for Miami and also managed to advance the ball effectively at times.
It was a reasonable game, but reasonable is not the standard expected from Messi, particularly in a World Cup year. It is too early to draw any long-term conclusions, but if the narrative does not shift in the coming month, then questions will inevitably arise.
“He will decide, and we will support whatever he chooses,” Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni said in December regarding Messi’s participation in the World Cup. “In principle, everything is progressing well, but six months is a long time. There is still time.”
With four months remaining, the clock is ticking.
