MLS\u2019s two biggest stars will meet on opening night of its 2026 season.<\/p>\n
Lionel Messi\u2019s Inter Miami will travel to the West Coast to take on Son Heung-Min and LAFC in a marquee matchup at the historic Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Feb. 21.<\/p>\n
While the first match of the 2026 MLS season features St. Louis City hosting Charlotte FC, it will be the league\u2019s two biggest global draws that steal the headlines to start the 2026 campaign. LAFC has not yet played at the Coliseum in an MLS game, but twice played rival LA Galaxy at the Rose Bowl.<\/p>\n
The announcement was part of the unveiling of the league\u2019s 2026 schedule, with the regular season starting on February 21 and culminating on November 7.<\/p>\n
A playoff schedule and date for MLS Cup will be announced at a later date, the league announced, but the playoffs will be uninterrupted by a FIFA international window.<\/p>\n
The 2026 season is the league\u2019s final full campaign on the current calendar, after the MLS Board of Governors voted to flip the calendar<\/a> to align with top European leagues. That will start in the summer of 2027. The season will also be MLS\u2019s first to air on Apple TV\u2019s streaming service outside of the MLS Season Pass paywall<\/a>, after the league and its media partner opted to drop the separate paywall moving forward.<\/p>\n Here are other notable moments in the upcoming season.<\/p>\n How the World Cup fits in<\/p>\n MLS will take a seven-week break in its schedule to accommodate the FIFA World Cup, which will be co-hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico.<\/p>\n With the league anticipating \u201ca record number\u201d of its players to participate, and with games being played at five MLS stadiums, the league will pause its action until just before the World Cup final. Many visiting national teams are also expected to use MLS training facilities as part of their base camp and host sites.<\/p>\n The extended break also serves as a reminder of the missed opportunity to flip the calendar in 2026. The league will run a shortened \u201csprint season\u201d at the start of 2027 ahead of flipping the calendar, but this World Cup break would have provided a natural reason to play that shorter season ahead of the change.<\/p>\n Due to the World Cup break, MLS will play a more congested schedule on the back end of the tournament, with the regular season concluding on Nov. 7. In 2025, MLS staged four full weekday gamedays, with the first not coming until May 14. (Limited games were played on weekdays in 11 other weeks.) In 2026, the league will have seven weekday gamedays, with five coming after the World Cup.<\/p>\n The World Cup break also complicated the schedule in markets that will stage games during the tournament due to infrastructure work at the respective stadiums. Toronto will play nine consecutive home games from March 14-May 9, but then don\u2019t play at home again until Aug. 14 because of limited dates due to the World Cup.<\/p>\n Importantly, MLS will keep 34 dates on the Fox networks this season, including some big doubleheaders around the World Cup on its FOX broadcast channel. Fox also holds the English-language TV rights for the World Cup.<\/p>\n MLS will play doubleheaders on FOX five times in the lead up to the World Cup, including three games on May 23-24, the final weekend before the FIFA international break ahead of the tournament, including Messi\u2019s Miami vs. Philadelphia and Son\u2019s LAFC against the Seattle Sounders on May 24.<\/p>\n FOX will also air the league\u2019s return on July 17, after the World Cup semifinals and ahead of the third-place game and World Cup final, between Nashville SC and Atlanta United.<\/p>\n Miami Freedom Park opens<\/p>\n Inter Miami will debut its new stadium, Miami Freedom Park, on April 4.<\/p>\n The 25,000-seat venue is a critical marker in the club\u2019s growth, and Miami will have its iconic No. 10 on the field to mark the moment after Messi re-signed with the club through 2028<\/a>. Inter Miami will host Austin FC for the opening match, which will air on Apple TV.<\/p>\n Inter Miami\u2019s new stadium is the first of three MLS stadiums set to open in consecutive years, including New York City FC\u2019s new home, Etihad Park<\/a>, arriving in 2027, and Chicago Fire FC\u2019s new downtown stadium set to open in 2028.<\/p>\n Playoffs start after November international break<\/p>\n Unlike the previous two seasons, the 2026 playoffs will not be interrupted by an international break. The playoff schedule will begin after the November international break ends.<\/p>\n This year, the league kicked off the first round of the playoffs on October 24. The second round will not kick off until Saturday, November 22.<\/p>\n The league will announce the playoff schedule at a later date.<\/p>\n