Lionel Messi, a member of the Argentina national soccer team and a member of the American team, participated in a friendly match against J1's Vissel Kobe held at the National Stadium on the night of the 7th, and excited the audience with his brilliant play.
Messi came to Japan as a member of Inter Miami of the American Major League Soccer, which he has been a member of since July last year, and from 7pm on the 7th he held a friendly meeting with last season's J1 champions, Vissel, at Tokyo's National Stadium. I went to the match.
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.
Immediately after entering the game, Messi showed off his characteristic brilliant dribbling, and in the 34th minute he slipped in front of the goal and hit a sharp shot, although it did not result in a goal.
Other notable players besides Messi took part in the match, including Uruguay representative Luis Suarez from Inter Miami and Yuya Osako from Vissel Kobe, but no goals were scored until the end.
The match was decided in penalty kicks, and Vissel won 4-3 thanks to the efforts of goalkeeper Shota Arai.
Also, at this match, players from both teams offered a moment of silence for the areas affected by the Noto Peninsula earthquake, and Andres Iniesta, who played for Vissel until the middle of last season, also came to the scene and said, ``Let's all enjoy the game.'' "Sho," he sent a message to his fans.
Vissel Osako "Messi is amazing"
Vissel Kobe's Yuya Osako said, ``There were some disappointing moments and I wanted to score, but first of all, I'm glad that we were able to finish without getting injured.Messi felt the same way as when he played with Iniesta. I thought it was amazing," he said, looking back on the match.
In addition, as the season aims to win back-to-back titles, he said, ``Today, I played the game thinking it was preparation for the opening day, and I was able to confirm that I was in good condition. I want to,” he said.