Lionel Messi will play in the coldest game he has ever met Inter Miami at the CONCACAF Champions Cup Opener in Sports Kansas City. But he has to wait until Wednesday to play it.
CONCACAF, Intermiami and Sports Kansas City on Monday announced that they will postpone the first scheduled game on Tuesday, due to prioritization of bad weather, player safety and fan safety. All tickets sold will be recognized at the 8pm Wednesday game at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas.
The National Weather Service for the Kansas City Region has issued winter storm warnings and cold climate recommendations, meteorologist Brad Temeyer told USA Today Sports on Monday. Approximately 5-7 inches of snow, single digit temperatures and wind chill below 15-25 degrees is expected on Tuesday. The windy colder is even lower on Wednesday nights, approaching below zero 15-30 degrees.
“Our suggestion is that if you’re outside for a long period of time, make sure you’re dressed properly for the conditions. So frostbite is set to just 30 minutes with long exposures. It involves dressing in multiple layers because it can,” Temeyer said. “We’re looking at even colder temperatures later this week that could lead to hypothermia, which will likely be closer to Wednesday and Thursday.”
Frostbite and hypothermia? For some, it may be football weather, but certainly not fútbol weather.
Wednesday’s match is the first of two in the first round of the Champions Cup: Intermiami and Sports Kansas City. It is one of five trophies that Messi’s club will compete in 2025. Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Both teams will play the MLS season opening game on Saturday. Intermiami will host New York City FC, while Sports Kansas City will visit Austin FC in Texas. An MLS spokesman said both games on USA Today Sports will go on schedule.
“I think what we have to think about is that it’s not just the game. If the snow they say is going to fall, we believe that the city will collapse completely. So. People can’t go out and access roads will be closed, that’s what it is,” Intermiami coach Javier Macherano said before the postponement.
“In many cases, people only think about the game itself, not everything that surrounds it. I think you have to look at the forest a little more than the trees. In that sense, what the game is questioning is I think it’s a little bit.”
With the game being postponed, longtime sports Kansas City coach Peter Barmes will focus on things like Messi, Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and the former Barcelona star in Jordi Alba can. Mascano said he will play Monday despite reporting that Messi is 100% healthy and will not play in the cold.
“We have to get into everything. We know who’s playing,” Vermes said. “We hope that what we can do is very differently, but we still play some of the best players to play the game. They’ve always been a difficult group and he’s been There is one person who can change the outcome of a game you play.
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From a player’s perspective, we know that sports Eric Tommy of Kansas City and Robert Taylor of Intermiami will be affected by conditions when both teams meet.
“We were training for a week,” Tommy said. “We have to move, and you forget the weather, because it’s all about the game. And we I am totally pleased to welcome the fans.”
“I don’t think anyone likes those conditions. Playing in the snow is always a little different,” Taylor said. “Preparation is everything. And when you’re mentally prepared for the game, it really doesn’t matter what, because it’s really the end of the day, it’s the same for both teams. There is none.”
Still, the weather is a concern for everyone involved, including the fans present.
At least 10 people were hospitalized and treated for frostbite and hypothermia following the NFL playoff game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Miami Dolphins on January 13, 2024. The Chiefs Communications team said it was the third most calm wind-cold to date. The Chief won 26-7.
Sports Kansas City is looking to make the most of the weather this time over Messi and Intermiami.
Messi scored a goal and assisted Intermiami when they defeated Sports Kansas City 3-2 on April 13, 2024. Missouri and third-ever attended MLS game.
“It’s always difficult to prepare you to play in the game with this,” Vermes said. “I think it’s going to be a bit of a shock for them.”
(This story has been updated with additional news and details.)