Messi, Inter Miami Could Face Snow, Frigid Temps in Concacaf Opener

Lionel Messi

has seen almost everything that is possible to see during his glittering career. But Tuesday night’s Concacaf Champions Cup match at Sporting Kansas City

could provide something new: A few inches of snow, and temperatures hovering around zero degrees Farenheit.

The forecast for Tuesday in Kansas City — where Inter Miami CF

and KC are scheduled to play Leg 1 of their first-round series — is calling for a high near 6°F with 1-3 inches of snow, with more snow in the evening and lows that night dropping to -3°F.

Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. Central Time and is set to proceed as scheduled as of press time. Children’s Mercy Park has an underground heating system to keep the pitch playable, and the understanding is Concacaf would have to intervene to postpone the match or arrange a swap of Leg 1 and 2 locations. A request for comment from Concacaf was not immediately returned.

Presuming the game goes on, it will likely be the coldest Messi has ever participated in. The closest rival is probably a 2-1 FC Barcelona

Champions League group stage win at FC Dynamo Kyiv

on Dec. 9, 2009, when highs were near 30°F but lows dropped to near 0°F overnight. (In case you’re wondering, Messi scored the match-winner in the 86th minute of that one.)

It could also be the latest entry into a library of some frigid memorable recent fixtures in the United States and Canada, most of which have involved national teams. Here’s a look at a few of the others:

Insanity in St. Paul

February 2, 2022: Cruel Americans cruise

Gregg Berhalter’s decision to host a 2022 FIFA World Cup

qualifier against Honduras in the Twin Cities worked out well for the hosts in the end, but left plenty questioning the United States Soccer

manager’s judgment.

It was one thing to try to embrace a home-field advantage. It was another to seek out potentially unsafe conditions, especially when the United States was the far superior team technically and would seem to have more to lose by adverse weather.

On a night very similar to what is forecast for Kansas City on Tuesday, Honduras even opted to remove two players at halftime directly because of the impact of the cold. Honduras manager Hernan Dario Gomez — who helped Panama Football

qualify for the 2018 World Cup at the USA’s expense — said angrily afterward that some of his team had required postgame IV treatment.

The Ice-teca

November 16, 2021: Canada arrives as a World Cup contender

It was only mid-November, but there were already piles of snow on the sidelines at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton where Canada Football

embraced its furthest north major city to host Mexico Football

in a pivotal Concacaf 2022 World Cup qualifier.

With temperatures steadily dropping into the teens in the evening, the Canucks pulled off a historic 2-1 victory over El Tri to plant themselves at the top of the Octagonal standings at the midway point. Cyle Larin pounced for a brace on either side of halftime, and the celebrations were already under way before Hector Herrera pulled back a 90th-minute goal for the visitors.

The Coldest MLS Cup

Dec. 7, 2013: Sporting KC down RSL in classic final

There have been several frosty MLS Cup finals over the years, but the coldest was played in Kansas City in 2013, where despite an afternoon kickoff, temperatures were only in the low 20s at the opening whistle.

It was colder still when Aurelien Collin’s 76th-minute leveler canceled out Alvaro Saborio’s opener for Real Salt Lake

. Collin then converted the decisive penalty in a 7-6 shootout win that went 10 rounds and berthed goalkeeper Tim Melia’s legendary reputation as a PK stopper.

The Snow-Clasico

March 22, 2013: The Deuce Gets Loose

In the end, the United States qualified comfortably for the 2014 World Cup. But at the time, the USA’ snowy 1-0 victory over Costa Rica Football

was seen as a do-or-die occasion after a Hexagonal-opening loss to Honduras in San Perdo Sula.

Dempsey provided the heroics in the 16th minute, and amid plenty of snow and temps a few degrees below freezing, conditions deteriorated to the point Costa Rica’s contingent believed the match should be suspended.

It ultimately didn’t matter as Costa Rica qualified alongside the United States. In Brazil, the Ticos gave Concacaf’s best performance at a World Cup since 2002, topping a group that included England