They came for Lionel Messi.
MetLife Stadium was packed on Tuesday night for a chance to see the once-in-a-generation superstar play for Argentina in a 1-0 win over Chile.
Eighteen months ago, in Qatar, Argentina won their first World Cup since 1986. Now, at 37, Messi is nearing the end of his career (it is unclear whether this Copa America will be his last major tournament) and his games have had the feel of a farewell rock-concert tour.
In the hours before the 9 p.m. kickoff, fans wearing blue and white jerseys bearing the number 10 filled the parking lot as if it were a fall Sunday.
Before the match started, they were bouncing around in the bowl below, belting out the lyrics.
This felt less like New York welcoming Messi and more like Buenos Aires taking over New York, from the powerful rendition of the Argentine national anthem to a video released on Monday night of Messi waving to camped-out fans from his hotel window as if he were royalty.
“For a football player, there’s nothing better than the atmosphere around you,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said through an interpreter. “The atmosphere we saw today makes you want to do your best, compete and try harder. For us, the fans are happy and joyful and that rubs off on the players.”
Even if you walked into this stadium without knowing anything about what was going on, you’d know when Messi had the ball at his feet because the sound changed.
Never before had the audience been so enthralled and transfixed.
In the 38th minute, Messi slipped between two defenders and created a goalscoring opportunity, eliciting applause from the press box.
The building hosted a Taylor Swift performance last summer, and Tuesday may be the closest thing this year to an encore.
However, rather than signing Messi they signed Lautaro Martinez, the Argentine striker who scored 24 goals in Italy’s Serie A last year.
Despite the parking lot and pre-game atmosphere, it took until the second half for this game to really pick up steam.
Chile remained on the defensive for 70 minutes, and Argentina struggled to break through, until Rodrigo Echeverria scored Chile’s first shot on goal after 17 largely lethargic attempts.
After a string of chances towards the end of the game, Argentina finally got the chance in the 88th minute when Martinez broke through from a corner and smashed in the rebound after an initial header.
It was the only goal and the closest we’ve ever come to witnessing Messi magic was more modest than anything captured on highlight reel footage.
It hardly mattered.
“Messi is very aggressive and decisive,” Chile coach Ricardo Gareca said through a translator. “He’s back and he’s a really dangerous player. There’s nothing else to say. He’s focused and the players have done a great job defensively but of course it’s tough to lose like this.”
Everyone who came to see Messi was equally happy to see Argentina win, which will ensure it wins Group A with one game remaining.
And after this match, the tournament organizers were probably more excited than anyone else.
This year’s Copa America performed well in terms of attendance, but the insistence on playing the matches in football stadiums overshadowed the image of empty stands.
That’s likely to be a problem when Bolivia and Uruguay face off in New Jersey on Tuesday. On Tuesday, Messi was the one solution.
The last Argentina fan did not leave the stadium until 11:27, more than 30 minutes after the final whistle.
The Copa America is run by CONMEBOL, a different confederation to the World Cup.
But this was essentially the first, very early dress rehearsal for the 2026 World Cup final at MetLife Stadium.
Messi’s driving force created a wonderful atmosphere.
