Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami teammates disembarked from their team plane in Kansas City, Mo., on Wednesday bundled up in ski hats and parkas. A few hours later, the Argentine captain scored in frigid conditions to give the visitors a 1-0 victory over Sporting KC in their Concacaf Champions Cup opener at Children’s Mercy Park.

The game was scheduled to be played Tuesday night, but an Extreme Cold Watch and a snowstorm Tuesday led to the postponement of the game.

Messi was seen coming down the airplane steps fully covered, carrying a thermos, presumably filled with yerba mate. He and his teammates needed all the warm beverages they could get. The temperature in Kansas City at game time was 4 degrees with a wind chill of minus-6, one of the coldest games ever played between MLS teams.

“I’m very proud [of the team] because I think it’s impossible to play in these conditions, it’s inhuman,” Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano said. “Never in my life have I been in a game this cold. After five or 10 minutes I could not feel my extremities, and it was the same for the players. I could not feel my feet or my hands. Players need to have sensation in their feet to play, so this was difficult. The ground was very hard.

“We adapted due to the personality and attitude of our players. They gave 100 percent, they had to fight, and we came away with the win.”

Unlike their previous matchup, which drew a crowd of 72,000 at Arrowhead Stadium last April, the crowd was much smaller, and colder, this time around. The diehard fans who showed up wore ski gear, some wore goggles, and one fan was seen wearing a furry bear suit with an Argentina Messi jersey.

Chants of “Messi! Messi!” could be heard from the crowd, and those fans got to see their hero score at the 56-minute mark. Messi received a perfect long diagonal pass from Sergio Busquets, settled the ball with his chest, dropped it to his left foot, switched to his right, and beat the goalkeeper with a shot to the back post.

The goal was especially important because away goals are the tiebreaker in this tournament.

“For the people that know him, it is normal because he did goals like this 1,000 times,” Mascherano said of Messi. “We are very lucky to have him in our team.”

Kansas City coach Peter Vermes said of Messi: “There’s one guy that can turn the game over, and he did. You don’t handle him, you just don’t. No disrespect to the rest of the players, but he does things at [different] level.”

Players from both teams wore gloves, neck warmers, many wore tights for the game, and their breath could be seen all over the field with every sprint. First year Inter Miami coach Mascherano, leading the team in the first 2025 game that counts, wore a heavy jacket, ski hood and cap on the sideline.

Kansas City fans refer to their home field as “Blue Hell,” and the F2 T.V. announcer joked that Blue Hell had frozen over.

The ball seemed heavy, but Miami players, who left 80-degree weather Wednesday morning, did what they could to get acclimated to the bitter cold. Inter Miami dominated possession 61% to 39% in the first half, and took seven shots. Luis Suarez had two good scoring chances, but sent one wide left and the other wide right. Messi also got into scoring position, but his shot sailed high.

Miami and KC remained scoreless at the half.

Inter Miami players missing from the game roster included goalkeeper Drake Callender, left back Jordi Alba and midfielder Yannick Bright. Callender is still recovering from an adductor injury, Bright has a leg laceration and Alba is serving a rollover suspension from the Champions Cup last year.

Joining Messi in the Starting IX were: goalkeeper Oscar Ustari, right back Marcelo Weigandt, center back Gonzalo Lujan, center back Tomas Aviles, left back Noah Allen, midfielder Fede Redondo, midfielder Busquets, winger Tadeo Allende, midfielder Telasco Segovia and Luis Suarez.

The available substitutes included Rocco Rios Novo, Ian Fray, Ryan Sailor, Benja Cremaschi, Fafa Picault, Santi Morales, Leo Afonso, Maxi Falcon, Julian Gressel, David Ruiz, and Robert Taylor.

Picault, the Cutler Bay resident who joined Inter Miami from the Vancouver Whitecaps this season, was the first off the bench, replacing Allende in the 73rd minute. Another South Florida resident, Cremaschi, went in for Segovia at the 79-minute mark. Taylor came in for Suarez for the final few minutes.

Concacaf announced Monday afternoon that the game was rescheduled for Wednesday “due to adverse weather conditions expected to impact the Kansas City metropolitan area in the next 24 hours, including significant snow accumulation.”

The statement added that the decision was made to prioritize player and fan safety and was made in close coordination with the two participating clubs.

Mascherano said on Monday that Messi would be “100 percent available” to play, regardless of the weather conditions or when the game is held.

“I can assure you that Leo will play,” Mascherano said, responding to a question about whether Messi might not travel due to the winter weather.

Inter Miami will be ready, the coach said.

“If we have to play in those conditions, we will face it,” Mascherano said. “The weather will be the same for both teams. But we know Sporting is more used to that climate, but we have to deal with that. We didn’t choose it, but this is how it is.”

Taylor, a native of Finland, is accustomed to cold weather and snow. But he prefers not to play in those conditions.

“I don’t think anyone likes those conditions, playing in snow is always a little bit different, but it’s all about preparation,” Taylor said. “When you’re mentally ready for the game, it really doesn’t matter what the weather is because at the end of the day, it’s the same for both teams. There’s no excuses. We’re going to prepare the right way and I think we’ll be ready.”

Inter Miami was scheduled to head home immediately after the game to prepare for its MLS season opener Saturday at 7:30 at Chase Stadium against New York City FC. Three days later, on Tuesday night, Miami faces Sporting KC again in the second leg of the Champions Cup series.

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