Messi came to Japan as a member of Inter Miami of the American Major League Soccer. Messi started on the bench in this match, but when he stood on the pitch side to come on as a substitute 15 minutes into the second half, the over 20,000 fans at the stadium erupted into loud cheers.
Other notable players besides Messi took part in the match, including Uruguay representative Luis Suarez from Inter Miami and Yuya Osako from Vissel Kobe. The match was decided in penalty kicks, and Vissel won 4-3 thanks to the efforts of goalkeeper Shota Arai.