By Ricardo Lopez Juarez
Apr 14, 2024, 01:58 AM EDT
Inter Miami’s visit to Kansas City on Saturday night to face Sporting KC in the MLS will be remembered for the stellar presence of Lionel Messi, who scored a great goal, but also because the atmosphere at Arrowhead Stadium serves as a preview of what will be experienced in two years in the FIFA World Cup.
A total of 72,610 people arrived with tickets to the Kansas Chiefs stadium to record the fourth largest attendance in history for an MLS game. The atmosphere was clearly electric and Messi responded with a great performance by leading his team to a 2-3 victory to regain his smile after the setback suffered on Wednesday against Monterrey when Inter Miami was crushed in the Concachampions.
Messi’s visit attracted the biggest star in all of Kansas City and the NFL, Patrick Mahomes, who greeted him before the game in a sports monster hug. Mahomes and his wife Brittany are enthusiastic supporters of soccer in Kansas City. Also present was Andy Reid, the head coach of the champion Chiefs.
Thousands of Inter Miami and Argentina national team shirts were seen in the spacious stands of the enormous stadium that will host the 2026 World Cup. Kansas City is an American football city, but this MLS match becomes a soccer reference on the way to the World Cup.
Messi began to shine when he made a superb pass with his magical left foot that was like half a goal for Diego Gómez, who tied the game 1-1 at 18 minutes.
Messi’s bombshell to score a goal at Mahomes’ house
Messi was very engaged the entire game. The best of him came in the 51st minute when he received a pass with space in three quarters of the field and, as he usually does, he settled quickly and shot left-footed. The bomb surpassed the goalkeeper’s attempt to shake the nets and put Inter Miami ahead 1-2.
Messi’s great goal caused madness among the public in the city in the state of Missouri, which for the first time had the opportunity to see the star. His score was celebrated as a touchdown pass from Mahomes to Travis Kelce on that same field.
Inter Miami took the victory thanks to a goal from Luis Suárez – another who had a very bad time on the recent visit to Monterrey – in the 71st minute. Erik Thommy scored both goals for Sporting KC and both were tremendous.
Messi has a good gesture with a young fan who entered the field
But in addition to Messi’s great goal and the great attendance of fans, The match included multiple fans entering the field to try to take “selfies” with what many consider the greatest footballer of history.
A young fan reached Messi without his guard or the stadium security guards being able to prevent him and the star agreed to the photo with a hug included. The boy then walked away celebrating.
Another older fan who got involved, with the complete complicity of the guards, when the game was about to end was not so lucky. When he reached Messi, the best-known bodyguard in sports appeared and pulled him away from the player.
Keep reading:
– Mateo Messi shines by scoring five goals in a match and copies his father’s celebration
– The best memes after the beating that Messi and his Inter Miami received in Monterrey
– Patrick Mahomes’ response to Real America News about his father’s arrest before the Super Bowl