Son Heung-min (33, LAFC) logged an assist in the 2026 season opener of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the United States against Lionel Messi (38, Inter Miami).
On the 22nd (Korea time) at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in the United States in the 2026 MLS opener against Inter Miami, in the 38th minute of the first half, Son Heung-min slipped a pinpoint pass to Martínez, who was breaking into the penalty area.
Martínez then finished with a left-footed, first-time shot to break the deadlock. With that, Son Heung-min recorded the first assist of the MLS season and tallied attacking points in two straight official matches.
With Martínez's goal, LAFC ended the first half up 1-0 against Miami, the MLS Cup champion last season.
Son Heung-min had already led the team to a 6-1 win by posting one goal and three assists in just the first half against Real España of Honduras on the 18th in the first leg of the first round of the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) Champions Cup, LAFC's first official match of the year.
The match also marked the first MLS showdown between Son Heung-min and Messi. The meeting between Messi, who joined Miami in summer 2023, and Son Heung-min, who transferred to LAFC last August for the highest fee in MLS history at $26.5 million (about 38.4 billion won), came 7 years and 2 months after December 2018. The two faced off twice in the group stage of the 2018-2019 Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Champions League. Barcelona recorded one win and one draw then.
Son Heung-min started as part of a three-front line with Dénis Bouanga and Martínez in LAFC's 4-3-3. Messi also started, deployed underneath out-and-out striker Germán Berterame in a 4-2-3-1. Messi had injured his left hamstring in a preseason friendly earlier this month, putting his availability in doubt, but he played the opener.
Berterame, who transferred to Miami ahead of this season, is a striker option for Mexico, Korea's group-stage opponent at the 2026 North and Central America World Cup kicking off in June.