MLS All-Stars Face Liga MX in Charlotte With Messi Absent Again

(WS News) – The MLS All-Stars face off against a Liga MX All-Star squad on Wednesday night at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, with the annual exhibition arriving just ten days after the conclusion of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Charlotte FC head coach Dean Smith takes charge of the MLS side for the fifth edition of the MLS-Liga MX format, a matchup MLS has dominated with a 3-1 record in the series, including a 3-1 win in Austin last summer. The MLS roster features 29 players from 21 clubs, with 11 of them having featured at this year’s World Cup, headlined by FC Dallas striker Petar Musa, who leads the MLS Golden Boot race presented by Audi with 13 goals. The headline absence is Lionel Messi, the league’s leading vote-getter and back-to-back Landon Donovan MLS MVP, who was excused from the fixture for a second straight year along with Inter Miami teammate Rodrigo De Paul.

Liga MX has countered with a 24-player squad featuring five representatives from 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup winners Cruz Azul and four from this year’s champions, Toluca, whose manager Antonio Mohamed will serve as Liga MX’s head coach. Striker Salomón Rondón headlines the visiting attack, while Tigres playmaker Juan Brunetta, who was named MVP of Liga MX’s 4-1 win in the 2024 edition, returns as the visitors’ creative anchor.

Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. ET, streaming on Apple TV, with the game preceded Tuesday by the MLS All-Star Skills Challenge presented by AT&T at nearby Truist Field. The exhibition also serves as a lead-in to Leagues Cup, the annual 36-team tournament pitting MLS and Liga MX clubs against one another, which kicks off in the coming weeks.