Beyond the severe pain in his right ankle on Sunday night in Miami Gardens, the tears on the face of Argentina’s captain showed a deeper anguish.

Despite winning the title in one of his “last battles,” as Messi described this Copa, the 37-year-old superstar did not pass the fitness test that could have opened the way for him to play his sixth World Cup in 2026.

Argentina successfully defended its South American title with a hard-fought 1-0 extra-time win against Colombia. Messi left the pitch in Hard Rock Stadium in the 64th minute, breaking down without being touched.

The Copa was Messi’s first major tournament since leaving European soccer to play in the less competitive Major League Soccer in the U.S. Still, he has missed several games over the last year for his Inter Miami club and Argentina due to muscle issues.

Messi felt muscular pains in his right leg in the second group match against Chile, which sidelined him from the following game against Peru. He did not deliver an impressive performance in the quarterfinals against Ecuador and missed his chance in the penalty shootout. In the semifinal victory over Canada, he scored his only goal in the tournament in the 2-0 win.

With a limp, Messi celebrated his second Copa title in modest fashion on the field. The injury still hurt the star on Monday.

“One more,” he said on his social media channels.

Messi did not speak to the media after the injury, and Argentina did not give details about the damage.

Messi’s farewell to the national team is still on hold, but there’s other players aged above 35 who are likely to have played their last major international tournament; winger Ángel Di María (36), defender Nicolás Otamendi (36), and substitute goalkeeper Franco Armani (37).

Argentina does have up-and-coming players and a squad averaging 28 years of age when the veterans are not counted. That is partly why it held strong against Colombia despite the absence of its star for 56 minutes of play.

“I don’t know whether we marked an era, but this team never ceases to surprise. It recovers from difficulties,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said. “When (Messi) leaves, the team multiplies with the one that comes in and we play better in a different way.”

Young talents such as Alejandro Garnacho, Valentín Carboni, Thiago Almada, Claudio Echeverri and Valentín Barco are not to be compared with the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, but they can help Argentina remain competitive when it defends the World Cup in 2026.

Key squad members such as goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez, defender Cristian Romero, midfielder Rodrigo de Paul and striker Lautaro Martínez are likely to remain.

Argentina will return to action in September in World Cup qualifying against Chile and Colombia. The Argentines lead South America. That international window will give more hints about whether Messi’s legend will go on or stop at Sunday’s title.

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Oyarzabal slid in to poke home Marc Cucurella’s cross, just when the game at Berlin’s Olympiastadion seemed destined for extra time after the latest show of resilience by England at the tournament.

Substitute Cole Palmer equalized for England in the 73rd minute to cancel out Nico Williams’ opener in the 47th from 17-year-old prodigy Lamine Yamal’s pass.

Spain also won the title in 1964, 2008 and 2012.

“I did my job and what I had to and was lucky enough to score the goal for the win,” said Oyarzabal, who came on as a substitute for captain Alvaro Morata. “When you are among the 26 names to be picked, that is special enough, but then to get to help the team like I did, that is the most important part.”

England men’s team has now lost back-to-back Euro finals and is still without a major title since winning the 1966 World Cup.

It is another agonizing loss for one of the world’s most underperforming national teams, this one coming in front of Prince William and Spain’s King Felipe at the venue built for the 1936 Olympics.

“This time it just wasn’t meant to be,” the prince wrote on social media. “We’re all still so proud of you.”

There were joyous scenes after the final whistle among the Spanish players, with Williams putting his hands to his face before he was embraced by his teammates. Dani Carvajal slumped to the field and was piled on by jubilant teammates.

Yamal, Marc Cucurella and Dani Olmo were among the first to jump over the advertising hoardings to reach the Spanish fans in the stadium’s east end of the stadium.

It was fitting that Yamal and Williams combined for the crucial first goal as they are the poster boys of this exciting, multicultural team that mirrors the new reality in Spain.

Yamal’s mother is from Equatorial Guinea and his father is from Morocco, while fellow winger Williams has Ghanaian parents who made the long journey to Europe looking for a better life. To make it to Spain, they had to ride on the back of a crowded truck and walk barefoot through the Sahara desert.

“Euphoria! We are so happy. We deserved this,” said Williams, the player of the match. “This is for our fans and our parents, who have supported us throughout.”

Unlike his brother Inaki, who is a Ghana international, Nico chose to play for Spain and will now be regarded as a national hero there.

As, indeed, will Oyarzabal and the rest of the Spain team, who have won all seven of their matches at this tournament — an unprecedented feat — and beaten heavyweights Germany, France and England, back-to-back in the knockout stage.

Spain is back as a major player in senior soccer after winning both the Women’s World Cup and the men’s UEFA Nations League in 2023.

Since 2001, Spanish men’s teams have won 23 consecutive major finals in club and international soccer.

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The game, announced Tuesday, follows a June 8 friendly against Colombia at Landover, Maryland. The matches are in a FIFA international fixture window, which means top Europe-based players will be available.

The Americans open the Copa América against Bolivia at Arlington, Texas, on June 23, play Panama four days later at Atlanta and close group play July 1 against Uruguay at Kansas City, Missouri.

Brazil plays Costa Rica or Honduras at Inglewood, California, on June 24, Paraguay at Las Vegas four days later and Colombia at Santa Clara, California, on July 2.

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Messi came off the bench for the final half hour, energized his teammates and probably had the best chance of the match in the 80th with two point-blank shots that were both stopped by the Vissel Kobe defense.

After a 0-0 draw in regulation, the match went to penalty kicks and Vissel won the shootout 4-3. Messi did not take a penalty, however, which brought jeers from the crowd of 28,614 in Tokyo’s National Stadium, which seats 68,000.

But it wasn’t close to the level of booing that broke out in Hong Kong after Messi stayed on the bench for the entire game with a groin injury. Some fans demanded refunds.

The Argentina star was contrite in a rare press conference in Tokyo on Tuesday as he addressed the public relations disaster. He had said he wasn’t sure whether he would be fit enough to play in Tokyo, and left fans guessing until he started warming up in the second half — drawing loud cheers from the crowd.

“After practice on Tuesday in the evening, he (Messi) said he felt good and we agreed he would play 30 minutes,” Inter Miami coach Gerardo Martino said. “We are very content now after the game is over because Messi looked very comfortable.”

He did not say why Messi did not take a penalty.

Vissel hit the post twice in the first half and had by far the best chances in a match it largely dominated.

The match in Tokyo wrapped up Inter Miami’s global promotional tour — stretching from El Salvador to Dallas into Saudi Arabia and Hong Kong and ending in Tokyo.

Inter won only one of the six games. The Miami preseason wraps up on Feb. 16 in Florida against Newell’s Old Boys, Messi’s boyhood club from Rosario, Argentina. Many expect him to finish his career there.

Inter Miami is loaded with former Barcelona players including Messi, Luis Suarez, Jordi Alba, and Sergio Busquets.

Andres Iniesta, another former Barcelona star, played several seasons in Japan with Vissel Kobe and spoke briefly to the crowd before the match.

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FIFA awarded the July 19 championship to the $1.6 billion venue, which opened in 2010, the culminating match of an expanded 48-nation, 104-game tournament that will be spread across three nations for the first time.

Located about 10 miles from Manhattan, MetLife was promoted by both New York and New Jersey, where the stadium was built in the Meadowlands marshes. The land of Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi and Frank Sinatra will be the focal point of the globe on that Sunday, when either Lionel Messi’s Argentina will try to win its second straight title or a successor will emerge.

“It will be a celebration of our diversity and our values,” New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said in a telephone interview. “The bigger picture is what leads up to it and what we leave behind for the decades to come.”

FIFA made the announcement Sunday at a Miami television studio, allocating the opener of the 39-day tournament to Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca on June 11 and the finale to the home of the NFL’s New York Jets and Giants.

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones had lobbied for the final to be at his AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

“The competition was dealing with the perception of the coastal, of a New York, or a Los Angeles,” he said. “If this were totally being played to just America and the United States, that wouldn’t have been such a formidable thing to overcome. But internationally, that’s formidable to overcome.”

All games from the quarterfinals on are being played in the United States. Semifinals are on July 14 at AT&T and the following day at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

Quarterfinals are at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on July 9, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, the following day, and at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, and Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, on July 11. The third-place game will be at Hard Rock on July 18.

The U.S. team will train in suburban Atlanta ahead of the tournament and open at SoFi on June 12. The Americans play seven days later at Seattle’s Lumen Field and finish the group stage at SoFi on June 25.

Since reaching the semifinals of the first World Cup in 1930, the U.S. has advanced to the quarterfinals just once, in 2002.

“It’s about making our nation proud,” American coach Gregg Berhalter said. “One way to really grow the game and to change soccer in America forever is to perform well and do something that no U.S. team has ever done before.”

Seventy-eight of 104 matches will be played in the U.S., with 13 games each in Mexico and Canada, and there as many as six matches a day.

AT&T will host a tournament-high nine matches. There will be eight each at MetLife, SoFi and Mercedes Benz; seven apiece at Hard Rock, Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, and NRG Stadium in Houston; and six apiece at Lumen, Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, and Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.

FIFA officials did not publicly explain their site-decision process.

Philadelphia’s final match will be a round-of-16 meeting on July 4, the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park hosts baseball’s All-Star Game, likely on July 14.

Santa Clara is the only U.S. site that will not host a game after the new round of 32. AT&T will host two round-of-32 matches.

FIFA expanded the World Cup from 32 to 48 nations, increased matches from 64 and announced the 16 sites in 2022.

Murphy learned of the decision while at a watch party in a MetLife Stadium suite. He was not discouraged by a British tabloid report on Jan. 17 that said the final would be at AT&T.

“We did everything we could to put our head downs, focus on the job at hand, kind of push out the noise, and that turned out to be a winning formula,” Murphy said.

Mexico will play its second match at Guadalajara’s Estadio Akron on June 18 and return to Azteca on June 24. Mexico City will host five matches, with four each at Monterrey’s Estadio BBVA and Guadalajara.

Canada will play its opening first-round match in Toronto on June 12, then at B.C. Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, on June 18 and 24. Each Canada venue will host 13 games.

A nation will need to play eight matches to win the title, up from seven since 1982.

All 11 of the U.S. stadiums are home to NFL teams. Hard Rock will host this year’s Copa América final on July 14, while MetLife was the site of the 2016 Copa América final.

Both the 1970 and 1986 World Cup finals were at Azteca.

When the U.S. hosted the 24-nation, 52-game tournament in 1994, the final was at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, the opener at Chicago’s Soldier Field and the semifinals at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford and the Rose Bowl.

With the additional teams, the length of the tournament will grow from 29 days in the shortened 2022 schedule in Qatar and 32 days for the 2018 tournament in Russia.

Only one match will involve a team that has not had at least three off days. FIFA divided the group stage into East, Central and West regions and intended to make travel shorter for group winners.

The stadiums in Arlington, Atlanta and Houston have retractable roofs that are expected to be closed because of summer heat, and Inglewood and Vancouver have fixed roofs.

Artificial turf will be replaced by grass in Arlington, Atlanta, East Rutherford, Foxborough, Houston, Inglewood, Seattle and Vancouver.

Several of the venues are expected to widen their surfaces to accommodate a 75-by-115 yard (68-by-105 meter) playing field, including AT&T, MetLife and SoFi.

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The Americans’ bid to win an unprecedented third consecutive title ended Sunday on penalty kicks. Megan Rapinoe and Sophia Smith missed penalties that could have given the United States the win, and Kelley O’Hara missed the Americans’ final shot to give Sweden the opening it needed.

Lina Hurtig converted and Sweden knocked the United States out of the World Cup 5-4 after a scoreless draw in regulation and extra time. The Americans controlled the shootout until the trio of misses.

It is the earliest exit in tournament history for the United States, four-time winners of the World Cup.

“I mean, this is like a sick joke. For me personally, this is like dark comedy that I missed a penalty,” Rapinoe said as she blinked back tears. “This is the balance to the beautiful side of the game. I think it can be cruel.”

U.S. goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher fruitlessly argued she had saved Hurtig’s attempt, but it was ruled over the line. The stadium played Abba’s “Dancing Queen” in the stadium as the Swedes celebrated and the U.S. players sobbed.

“We just lost the World Cup by a millimeter. That’s tough,” said Naeher, who successfully converted her own penalty kick. “I am proud of the fight of the team. We knew we hadn’t done our best in the group stage and we wanted a complete team performance and the team came out and played great.”

She praised Sweden goalkeeper Zecira Musovic, who had 11 saves to eliminate the United States in the round of 16 for the first time in team history. The American’s worst finish had been third place, three different times.

“We didn’t put anything in the back of the net,” sobbed Julie Ertz after the loss. “The penalties were tough. It’s just emotional because it’s probably my last game ever. It’s just tough. It’s an emotional time. It obviously sucks. Penalties are the worst.”

The loss was somewhat expected based on the Americans’ listless play through three group stage matches. But they played their best game of this World Cup against Sweden, only to have it decided by penalties.

“I am proud of the women on the field,” said U.S. coach Vlatko Andonovski. “I know we were criticized for the way we played, and for different moments in the group stage. I think we came out today and showed the grit, the resilience, the fight. The bravery showed we did everything we could to win the game. And, unfortunately, soccer can be cruel sometimes.”

It was the was the fourth time the Americans went to extra time at the World Cup. All three previous matches went to penalties, including the 2011 final won by Japan. The U.S. won on penalties in a 2011 quarterfinal match against Brazil, and in the 1999 final at the final at the Rose Bowl against China.

Sweden knocked the United States out of the 2016 Olympics in the quarterfinals on penalties.

Sweden goes on to the quarterfinals to play Japan, the 2011 World Cup winner, which defeated Norway 3-1 on Saturday night.

Sweden has never won a major international tournament, either the World Cup or the Olympics. The closest the team has come is World Cup runner-up in 2003. They finished in third in the 1999, 2011 and 2019 editions, and won silver medals in the last two Olympics.

The result ended the international career of Rapinoe, the Golden Boot winner of the 2019 tournament who is retiring after the World Cup. She had taken on a smaller role for the Americans in her final tournament and was a substitute in the United States’ first and third games of group play, and didn’t get off the bench in the middle match.

She came on in extra time against Sweden and in her final game and few minutes of action, she failed to control a ball played in deep, whiffed on a rebound, hit the side of the net with a corner and then missed the penalty that would have won the game for the United States.

“Just devastated. It feels like a bad dream,” said captain Alex Morgan. “The team put everything out there tonight, I feel like we dominated, but it doesn’t matter. We’re going home and it’s the highs and lows of the sport of soccer. So, yeah, it doesn’t feel great.”

The Americans struggled through group play with just four goals in three matches. They were nearly eliminated last Tuesday by first-timers Portugal, but eked out a 0-0 draw to fall to second in their group for just the second time at a World Cup.

The Americans looked far better against Sweden, dominating possession and outshooting the Swedes 5-1 in the first half alone. Lindsey Horan’s first-half header hit the crossbar and a second-half blast was saved by goalkeeper Musovic, who had six saves in regulation.

Sweden won all three of their group games, including a 5-0 rout of Italy in its final group match. Coach Peter Gerhardsson made nine lineup changes for the match, resting his starters in anticipation of the United States.

“They will come back for sure, they have so much quality on their team,” Sweden midfielder Kosovare Asllani said after the match. “This defeat will not take them down. I expect them to be ready for the next World Cup.”

It was tense from the opening whistle.

Naeher punched the ball away from a crowded goal on an early Sweden corner kick. Three of the Swedes’ goals against Italy came on set pieces.

Trinity Rodman’s shot from distance in the 18th minute was easily caught by Musovic, who stopped another chance by Rodman in the 27th.

Horan’s header off Andi Sullivan’s corner in the 34th hit the crossbar and skipped over the goal. Horan was on target in the 53rd minute but Musovic dove to push it wide. Horan crouched to the field in frustration while Musovic was swarmed by her teammates.

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Thompson, who has been impressive this season as a rookie for Angel City in the National Women’s Soccer League, is the youngest on the roster, while the 37-year-old Rapinoe is the oldest.

“I’ve already talked to some of the other experienced players about how we rally this group of players from ages 18 through (Rapinoe),” Forward Alex Morgan joked. “Just how we can all come together and be incredibly fluid and go through this World Cup.”

The players were introduced with a star-studded social media post that included President Joe Biden, first lady Jill Biden, Taylor Swift, Lil Wayne and Megan Thee Stallion.

Morgan, 33, and Rapinoe will each be making their fourth World Cup appearance for the No. 1 ranked U.S. team. Morgan stopped short of saying the Americans were the favorites going into the tournament.

“I think that at the end of the day, we already have a target on our backs coming in as reigning World Cup champs. But there’s some teams that have done incredibly well over the last four years and have made a name for themselves to compete for this trophy,” she said.

Defender Kelley O’Hara, 34, also earned a spot on her fourth World Cup squad, lending a veteran presence to shore up the backline in the absence of team captain Becky Sauerbrunn, who announced last week she won’t play in the World Cup because of a lingering foot injury.

The tournament kicks off on July 20 in Australia and New Zealand. The Americans are in Group E with Vietnam, the Netherlands and Portugal. The United States, which has won four total World Cups, opens with Vietnam on July 22 in Auckland.

“We want to do something that’s never been done before. We believe in the quality of the team and the support we have and we think we have what it takes to make it possible,” Andonovski said about the opportunity to win a third straight World Cup title.

Rapinoe is currently nursing a calf injury but she should be ready to play in the U.S. team’s sendoff match against Wales on July 9 in San Jose, California. Andonovski said she will take on a different role than in 2019, when she scored six goals including a penalty in a 2-0 victory over the Netherlands in the final.

“She certainly is going to have different types of minutes. But her role, first from the leadership standpoint is so important, but also her performance on the field is very valuable for us,” Andonovski said.

The team has been hit by injuries in the run-up to the event. In addition to Sauerbrunn, the United States will be without forward Mallory Swanson, who tore the patella tendon in her left knee. Swanson had seven goals this year before she was hurt in an April exhibition match against Ireland.

Catarina Macario, a talented forward who tore her ACL last year while playing for her French club, Lyon, did not recover in time for a spot on the team. Midfielder Sam Mewis also has a lingering injury and wasn’t available for the World Cup.

Some of the youngsters include 22-year-old Sophia Smith, who was named both the NWSL Most Valuable Player and the U.S. Soccer Player of the Year for 2022, and 21-year-old Trinity Rodman, U.S. Soccer’s Young Player of the Year in 2021 and the daughter of former NBA star Dennis Rodman.

Thompson is the second-youngest player ever named to a World Cup roster, behind U.S. assistant coach Tiffany Roberts Sahaydak, who played in the 1995 World Cup. Thompson was called onto the team in early April for a match against Ireland, taking the place of Swanson.

A surprise inclusion on the roster was 25-year-old Savannah DeMelo, who has yet to appear in a match for the United States. DeMelo plays for Racing Louisville in the NWSL, and has scored in three of her last four matches. She has five total goals this season.

DeMelo is just the third U.S. player to be named to a World Cup squad without playing in an international-level match.

“Her performance in the league was one of the biggest reasons why she’s on the team,” Andonovski said. “And based on the needs that we have in terms of the opponents and different situations that we may face, we see Sav being very important to us going forward.”

The roster by position with club affiliation:

Goalkeepers: Aubrey Kingsbury (Washington Spirit), Casey Murphy (North Carolina Courage), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars)

Defenders: Alana Cook (OL Reign), Crystal Dunn (Portland Thorns), Emily Fox (North Carolina Courage), Naomi Girma (San Diego Wave), Sofia Huerta (OL Reign), Kelley O’Hara (Gotham), Emily Sonnett (OL Reign).

Midfielders: Savannah DeMelo (Racing Louisville FC), Julie Ertz (Angel City), Lindsey Horan (Lyon), Rose Lavelle, (OL Reign), Kristie Mewis (Gotham), Ashley Sanchez (Washington Spirit), Andi Sullivan (Washington Spirit).

Forwards: Alex Morgan (San Diego Wave), Megan Rapinoe (OL Reign), Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit), Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns), Alyssa Thompson (Angel City), Lynn Williams (Gotham FC).

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Officials have been trying to stamp out the troubling tradition for just as long, with fines, banishment from stadiums, and now early finishes.

Play was halted because of the deafening noise in the 90th minute at Allegiant Stadium with the U.S. up three goals. When action resumed, 12 minutes of stoppage time were signaled but the persistent chanting caused Salvadoran referee Iván Barton to end the match in the eighth added minute.

Four players were ejected in a testy second half of the game, which the U.S. won 3-0 for a spot Sunday in the CONCACAF Nations League final against Canada.

Christian Pulisic scored two goals and Ricardo Pepi scored one in a strong showing, but this game will be remembered much more for the ugliness.

“In terms of the chant, I want to make it very clear first and foremost, for our beliefs and our culture, it has no place in the game,” B.J. Callaghan said after his first game as U.S. interim coach. “It has no place in our value system.”

FIFA fined Mexico 100,000 Swiss francs ($108,000) in January for anti-gay chants by fans at two games. That came after the sport’s governing body banned fans from two of Mexico’s games in 2021 after the chants broke out at an Olympic qualifying tournament.

FIFA also fined Mexico 60,000 Swiss francs ($65,000) in 2021 for the chants.

Before the stoppage of play, Americans Weston McKennie and Sergiño Dest were ejected by Barton along with Mexicans César Montes and Gerardo Arteaga.

That means McKennie and Dest are suspended for the final against Canada.

“These are rivalry games. These are derby games. Things like this happen across the world and in no way am I embarrassed,” Callaghan said about the ejections. “It comes from a good place. They care about each other so much in that locker room that they’re standing up for each other. Sometimes does it have an issue where we take a red card? Yeah, but when you know where it comes from, you can accept it and it’s a learning lesson for us.

As Callaghan coached the game on an interim basis, news broke that Gregg Berhalter had agreed to return as U.S. national team coach after being cleared in a domestic violence investigation. The U.S. Soccer Federation announced Friday that Berhalter will coach the team through the 2026 World Cup. He won’t take over until after CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Pulisic, the top American player, said last week the USSF should consider bringing Berhalter back.

Luca de la Torre and Joe Scally are possible replacements for McKennie and Dest in the final.

“It’s definitely a blow,” Tim Weah said. “It comes with the game. I know the red cards are definitely a bummer, but it happens. Aggressive match tonight.”

Striker Folarin Balogun made his debut after the 21-year-old decided to play for the U.S. over England and Nigeria.

“The boys told me it was going to be intense, but I’m definitely still shocked by the events,” said Balogun, who at one point was shoved to the field. “I was just on the floor because I was in pain, but when I looked up I just saw so many people around and I knew my teammates were just trying to defend me.”

Making his first start for club or country since April 15, Pulisic put the U.S. ahead in the 37th minute and doubled the lead in the 46th. He has 25 goals in 59 international appearances, including four goals against Mexico. Pepi scored in the 79th, five minutes after replacing Bologun.

With its first three-goal victory over Mexico in 23 years, the U.S. stretched its unbeaten streak against El Tri to six (four wins, two draws), matching the Americans’ longest, from 2011-15.

The U.S. went ahead when Gio Reyna poked the ball off Montes and then while prone, poked it forward off Jorge Sánchez. Pulisic burst behind the defenders, took a pair of touches and from the edge of the 6-yard box slotted the ball past goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa.

McKennie started the move toward the second goal with a long pass down a flank to Weah, who crossed. A sprinting Pulisic got behind Israel Reyes and Sánchez, stabbing the ball in with his left foot from 6 yards.

Montes was given a straight red card in the 69th for kicking Balogun while the two were challenging. McKennie was given a red card two minutes later for placing a hand on Sánchez’s neck during the ensuing arguing and shoving.

Pepi scored his seventh international goal, receiving a pass from Dest, taking a touch and rounding Ochoa. Dest and Arteaga were sent off in the 86th for shoving each other.

“There was moments on both teams that we could have handled better,” Callaghan said.

Notes: Reyna, his hair dyed blonde, made his first start for club or country since March 27, also the last time Dest and goalkeeper Matt Turner had appeared in any match. … Canada beat Panama 2-0 in the opener on goals by Jonathan David in the 25th and Alphonso Davies in the 69th. Mexico and Panama meet in the third-place match.

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After months — years, even — of speculation, Messi on Wednesday finally revealed his decision to join a Miami franchise that has been led by another global soccer icon, David Beckham, since its inception but has yet to make any real splashes on the field.

That likely will soon change. One of Inter Miami’s owners, Jorge Mas, tweeted out a photo of a darkly silhouetted Messi jersey shortly before the Argentinian great revealed his decision in interviews with Spanish news outlets Mundo Deportivo and Sport.

It was widely believed that Messi eventually would choose to play for Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia, following longtime rival Cristiano Ronaldo to a nation where some clubs now are funded by the state’s sovereign wealth fund. Going back to Barcelona, a storied franchise where he spent most of his career, was another possibility.

But in the end, he made the call that surprised many. Messi is joining MLS. He said in the interviews Wednesday that some final details still need to be worked out, but that he has made the call to “continue my path” in Miami.

“After winning the World Cup and not being able to return to Barcelona, it was my turn to go to the league of the United States to live football in another way,” Messi said.

He didn’t take the money. He didn’t choose the memories. He picked Miami instead. Messi’s next matches are likely to be exhibitions with Argentina against Australia on June 15 at Beijing and at Indonesia in Jakarta four days later — and then his Inter Miami debut figures to be sometime in July.

“We are pleased that Lionel Messi has stated that he intends to join Inter Miami and Major League Soccer this summer,” read a statement from MLS. “Although work remains to finalize a formal agreement, we look forward to welcoming one of the greatest soccer players of all time to our league.”

The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner — the trophy given annually to the world’s best player — makes his move after two years with Paris Saint-Germain. At 35, Messi has nothing left to prove in the game and filled the only significant unchecked box on his resume back in December by leading Argentina to the World Cup title.

Messi has more than 800 goals in his career for club and country, making him one of the greatest scorers in the sport’s history. In more than 17 years of representing Argentina on the international stage, he has scored 102 goals against 38 different national team opponents — 16 of those goals coming on U.S. soil. He scored twice in last year’s World Cup final against France, a match that ended 3-3 with Argentina prevailing 4-2 on penalty kicks.

He has been to the absolute mountaintop of the game. He is a four-time Champions League winner and his 129 goals in the top club competition are second to Ronaldo’s 140. Messi has won 10 La Liga titles and two Ligue 1 championships, seven Copa del Reys and three Club World Cups plus a Copa América and Olympic gold medal for Argentina.

And now he comes to MLS, and a team that is struggling — last place in the Eastern Conference, just a few days removed from the firing of coach Phil Neville (who was hand-picked by Beckham two years ago).

Messi’s decision to play in the U.S. might be the biggest boost ever for American soccer on the pro stage. Some of the game’s biggest names — Pelé, Franz Beckenbauer, Thierry Henry and Beckham himself — have come to the U.S. toward the end of their careers, but landing a player still no worse than near the pinnacle of his game and just a few months removed from hoisting a World Cup is simply huge.

“This is obviously the biggest signing that they’ve brought in,” said Nashville defender Walker Zimmerman, a U.S. national team regular. “It’s kind of reminiscent of Beckham when he came originally. You saw how the league has kind of changed in the 15 years since he arrived, and hopefully 15 years from now we’re seeing all the growth from this addition to the league. I think it’s a great thing. I think it’ll be great for the sport in this country, especially ahead of the 2026 World Cup. And I’m excited to play against him.”

It took months of negotiations with MLS, the Miami ownership, Adidas and even Apple getting involved in a creative pitch to bring Messi to Miami’s pitch. Apple — which is a broadcast partner of MLS — announced Tuesday that it will show a still-untitled four-part documentary series “featuring exclusive behind-the-scenes access to global superstar Lionel Messi. … In his own words, Messi tells the definitive story of his incredible career with the Argentina national football team, providing an intimate and unprecedented look at his quest for a legacy-defining World Cup victory.”

And now, his story will have a Miami chapter.

Inter Miami needed six years from inception to playing its first match, and its first four seasons have been less than stellar.

Messi is joining a team that sits last in the Eastern Conference and just fired its coach. It has made the playoffs in two of its first three seasons but has yet to finish a season with a winning record or even a positive goal differential.

Still, there have been hints for months that Miami remained very much in the Messi sweepstakes. Messi met with Inter Miami co-owner Beckham this spring, and that was shared publicly almost to ensure that everyone knew the sides were still talking. Messi and his family also own several pieces of luxury real estate in South Florida, and — almost as if to suggest something big was coming — the MLS club told fans the only way they could get tickets for the second half of this season was to purchase a season-ticket package.

He’s an enormous draw everywhere on the globe, including Miami. Two days after Argentina won the World Cup, Miami Heat guard Kyle Lowry sat on his team’s bench for a game unable to play because of injury. He wore a Messi jersey that night.

Inter Miami still plays home matches in a temporary home in Fort Lauderdale, about 45 minutes north of the site in Miami where the team wants to build a permanent complex.

And even in an area where the population has a serious Latin flavor, and where more people might actually call the sport fútbol than soccer, Inter Miami has struggled to generate the same attention as do the area’s primary pro teams — basketball’s Heat, baseball’s Miami Marlins, football’s Miami Dolphins and hockey’s Florida Panthers.

Messi could change that in an instant. In a flash, he becomes the biggest name in MLS and makes everything Miami does newsworthy.

His decision ends what has been a wild saga. Barcelona made Messi a superstar, but the financial issues that forced the team to letting him go two years ago still remain an issue.

“I heard that they’d have to sell players or lower players’ salaries and the truth is, I didn’t want to go through that,” Messi said Wednesday.

There are no financial issues with Saudi Arabia, and speculation that he would end up there intensified when Messi made an unauthorized trip to the kingdom. PSG suspended him and some fans turned on him, serenading him with jeers toward the end of his season with the French club.

Everyone knew he wouldn’t be back with PSG. Few likely thought he was heading to Miami. But here he is, a move to Miami by a superstar that might even be more shocking than LeBron James arriving to join the Heat 13 years ago.

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During those rides, she got to hear “all the behind-the-scene things that were happening” and was “exposed to what a coach actually does,” she said. “I pretty much knew then that when I was done playing, I would coach.”

Now she’s an assistant for the U.S. women’s national team and one of just four women in the United States who hold the U.S. Soccer Federation’s elite pro license.

Kilgore’s path makes her a rarity. American soccer offers limited coaching opportunities for women at the top of the sport, and the cost to obtain the requisite licenses can be a barrier.

The issue has drawn FIFA’s attention. A 2019 study by soccer’s international governing body found that more than 13 million girls and women played organized soccer, but only 7% of coaches worldwide were women.

The shortage of qualified women was highlighted by a glut of vacancies created by men who were pushed out of the nation’s top professional league.

When scandal rocked the National Women’s Soccer League in 2021, five male coaches were dismissed or forced to resign because of misconduct, harassment or abuse. Earlier this month, four of those men were banned from ever coaching in the NWSL again following an investigation by the league and the players’ union.

Today, just three women hold head coaching jobs in the 12-team league, all on the West Coast: OL Reign’s Laura Harvey, San Diego’s Casey Stoney and Angel City’s Freya Coombe. Five coaches, all men, are embarking on their first season with their teams this year.

For women trying to break into such elite circles, money is a glaring obstacle.

Top coaching licenses are expensive to obtain — the USSF pro license costs $10,000 — and the process is both lengthy and labor intensive. Male coaches often have teams and leagues behind them willing to foot the bill and provide the time to complete the courses.

Kilgore, who worked for the Houston Dash before joining Vlatko Andonovski’s staff on the national team, got her pro license with financial help from the Dash, a scholarship fund set up by former national team coach Jill Ellis and FIFA.

“I can tell you it’s a huge blessing because every other step along the way with licensing up to this point, I’ve paid for myself with a little bit offset from the universities I’ve worked at,” Kilgore said. “It is a major barrier for a lot of people.”

Professional players — the logical pool from which to draw future coaches — usually don’t make enough to pay for the higher-level courses. The average salary in the NWSL is $54,000. Players are also busy with the rigors of a pro career.

“There are players that are interested in coaching education, but with just how our schedule works, it’s tough to get into any of the normal coaching programmings, and it’s also pretty pricey,” said Washington Spirit goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart, who has also played for the United States. She has two lower-level coaching licenses.

The NWSL Players Association was so concerned about the costs and available coaching pathways that the collective bargaining agreement struck last year includes a provision to help players fund enrollment costs.

U.S. Soccer provides financial aid through the Jill Ellis Scholarship Fund, which honors the legacy of the two-time Women’s World Cup championship coach. Announced in 2020, the program seeks to double the number of elite women in coaching by 2024.

FIFA also offers scholarships and last year introduced a mentorship program that had 80 applications. The participants met in August at the under-20 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica.

FIFA’s push to get more women into coaching has also been tailored for individual member associations. For instance, Trinidad and Tobago didn’t have coaches who would benefit from upper-level courses, but there was a need for a lower licensing course — and 20 women applied.

“We talk about how important it is to have female players being seen on TV, on ads, just for little girls and boys to see ‘OK, this is possible. This is something that I can do.’ They always say if you don’t see it, you don’t believe it. But I do think for coaches, it is the same,” said Arijana Demirovic, head of Women’s Football Development at FIFA.

Another result of drawing more women into coaching is the prospect that female players’ concerns will be addressed in a more thoughtful way.

The upheaval in the NWSL led to a pair of investigations into misconduct in the league. One probe conducted by former acting U.S. Attorney General Sally Q. Yates was done at the behest of U.S. Soccer. The investigation revealed, “a league in which abuse and misconduct — verbal and emotional abuse and sexual misconduct — had become systemic, spanning multiple teams, coaches, and victims.”

Two of the now-former coaches investigated by Yates — Racing Louisville’s Christy Holly and Rory Dames of the Chicago Red Stars — did not hold the requisite A-level license to coach in the NWSL.

The Yates report recommended that all NWSL coaches be required to have A-level licenses — one step below a pro license — and to turn the licensing process into an accreditation program that requires background screening and annual recertification.

U.S. women’s team general manager Kate Markgraf pointed to another hurdle for coaches once they are licensed: finding jobs and advancement possibilities. Because there are fewer women’s leagues, the jobs aren’t as plentiful, and the men have a big head start in the industry.

For example, data collected by the University of Minnesota’s Tucker Center for Research on Girls and Women in Sport revealed that 70.9% of Division I women’s soccer teams are coached by men.

“It’s part of an overall strategy: How do we make sure that women get into the pipeline, stay in it and aren’t on a glass cliff? Retention is hard and attrition is common,” Markgraf said. “We have to be intentional about how we support every single female hired in a male-dominated industry.”

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Scandals highlight lack of women coaches at top of US soccer
 

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