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Son, Messi to face off in opener of 2026 MLS season

Published: 23 Nov. 2025, 13:57

Los Angeles forward Son Heung-min, center, battles for the ball during Game 1 of the first round of MLS's Western Conference playoffs in Los Angeles, California, on Oct. 29. [AP/YONHAP]

Los Angeles FC forward Son Heung-min will face Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi in the opening match of the 2026 Major League Soccer (MLS) season, setting up a showdown between the league's stars.

LAFC will host Inter Miami on Feb. 21 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in California, rather than its usual home of BMO Stadium, according to the 2026 season schedule released by MLS on Thursday.

The club will use the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which seats around 77,000 spectators — more than three times the capacity of BMO Stadium, which holds around 22,000. This will mark the first time LAFC hosts a game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which will also host the opening ceremony of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Son transferred to LAFC in August after spending a decade with Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League. Since then, fans and analysts have speculated about when he would meet Messi, who joined Inter Miami in 2023. With both players now stars for their respective teams, the league scheduled the anticipated season opener.

Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi dribbles the ball against Nashville SC during an MLS match at Geodis Park in Nashville, Tennessee, on Nov. 1. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

As LAFC plays in the Western Conference and Inter Miami in the Eastern Conference, regular matchups between the two clubs are rare.

Son and Messi have not faced each other since the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League group stage, when Son played for Tottenham and Messi for FC Barcelona.

MLS listed the season opener between LAFC and Inter Miami as the top match among its “10 must-watch games in 2026” on its official website.

"The nearly 78,000-capacity venue has hosted some of the most memorable cultural and sporting events of the past century, making it a fitting location for a highly anticipated matchup between two of MLS’s biggest stars: Lionel Messi and Son Heung-min," the MLS wrote.

The 2026 MLS season will begin in February and run through early November, with each team playing 34 regular-season games. The league will pause from late May to July 17 for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY BAE YOUNG-EUN [[email protected]]