The 2026 MLS season kicks off on Saturday evening with a collision between soccer icons.
The Opening Evening matchup options LAFC internet hosting reigning MLS Cup champion Inter Miami at BMO Stadium. The match marks Lionel Messi’s first and solely scheduled journey to Los Angeles this season, as his arrival carries with it the load of the person who wears the crown.
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Throughout from the 2025 MLS MVP stands Hollywood’s latest main man sporting black and gold. Son Heung-min, the captain of the South Korea nationwide group — and now the newfound chief of LAFC’s championship aspirations.
If MLS wished a billboard for what it has turn into, this match is it.
Final 12 months, Messi lifted the MLS Cup in Miami and waved goodbye to acquainted Barcelona shadows. This winter, Miami reloaded like a membership chasing a dynasty, not nostalgia. They added Dayne St. Clair in aim, strengthened their again line and introduced in Germán Berterame to unlock Messi to function because the No. 10 once more. On paper, it’s the deepest roster MLS has seen in years.
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However on the pitch, it comes with a obtrusive goal for opponents.
And that focus on now has to organize for the intense lights of Los Angeles.
LAFC enters its first full season with Son, who detonated onto the league final summer season after leaving Tottenham. Sonny had 12 targets and 4 assists in 13 matches, and practically led the black and gold again to the MLS Cup Ultimate, if not for a dramatic penalty-kick shootout in Vancouver that noticed Son miss the PK that may have despatched LAFC to the Ultimate.
Denis Bouanga, the Gabonese flamethrower, piled up 24 targets and Early switch rumors and however as of now, LAFC has held on to its star within the hopes {that a} full season along with Son will result in extra {hardware} for the black and gold.
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However star energy alone doesn’t win trophies.
Inter Miami star Lionel Messi dribbles. REUTERS
Head coach Marc Dos Santos inherits alternative and stress. Promoted after Steve Cherundolo returned to Germany for household causes, Dos Santos is aware of MLS, is aware of the locker room and is aware of expectations on this metropolis are by no means whispered. LAFC went 17-8-9 final season, third within the West, and bowed out within the convention semifinals. Good isn’t the aim right here. A second MLS Cup trophy is.
The roster provides him instruments. Stephen Eustáquio arrives on mortgage from FC Porto, a metronome able to snapping the tempo from frantic to surgical. Jacob Shaffelburg provides direct tempo on the flank. Amin Boudri brings U22 creativity over from Sweden. Tyler Boyd returns from a long-term knee harm with a veteran edge. And if Aaron Lengthy’s Achilles holds by means of the spring, LAFC’s backbone stiffens significantly.
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There are departures, too. Frankie Amaya’s mortgage expired. Andrew Moran went again to Brighton. Luca Bombino’s homegrown chapter ended with a full switch. That churn is MLS in 2026 — money flowing extra freely between golf equipment, gamers transferring intra-league with a pragmatism the outdated guard as soon as resisted. The league’s three-decade evolution has lastly embraced its personal ecosystem.
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But all roads this weekend result in Messi.
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He isn’t simply defending a trophy; he’s doubtlessly getting ready for a World Cup on American soil this summer season. MLS will pause for the match, releasing stars to their nationwide groups earlier than resuming in July. Son will captain South Korea. Eustáquio and Shaffelburg might put on Canada pink. Dozens of MLS gamers will vanish into worldwide obligation, leaving managers to steadiness fatigue, rhythm and ego once they return.
That is the season’s shadow storyline: How do you construct continuity when your finest gamers live two lives?
Miami believes it has insulated itself with depth. LAFC believes chemistry beats depth. Saturday gained’t resolve the Cup, however it would reveal who has the early edge.
There’s additionally one thing deeper at play. MLS in 2026 is now not begging for relevance. It’s promoting it. Thomas Müller in Vancouver. James Rodríguez in Minnesota. Timo Werner in San Jose. Facundo Torres again in Austin. The league has turn into a launching pad and a touchdown strip. Younger abilities use it to leap. Veterans use it to recalibrate. The general product within the U.S. and Canada is best for it.
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Miami gained’t sit deep and admire the script. They’ll press, they’ll rotate they usually’ll dare LAFC’s midfield to deal with chaos. If Eustáquio can dictate possession and if the again line resists Messi’s gravitational pull, LAFC can flip this opening recreation into an announcement.
Son Heung-min. AP
But when the defensive lapses that haunted them late final 12 months resurface, Messi will carve them open like a surgeon tracing a scar.
The fantastic thing about Opening Day is its honesty. No excuses about fatigue. No desk math. Simply who’s higher in February.
Is LAFC a contender able to dethrone the defending champions? Or a glamour mission that also must be taught underneath a brand new coach?
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Saturday evening underneath the Los Angeles lights, in opposition to the champions, we’ll start to seek out out.