Lionel Messi debut: Watch World Cup winner score his first goal for Inter Miami with sensational free kick to seal 2-1 win on dream debut

Lionel Messi rocked American football as he jump-started his Inter Miami career with a dramatic, late winner on his debut.

The World Cup winner was taken off the bench in the 54th minute of the League Cup match against Cruz Azul to make his first appearance for the MLS team, but waited until stoppage time to really announce his arrival.

And what an arrival it was. The Argentine curled a stunning free-kick into the top left corner to prevent the game from going to penalties at death.

The game’s best player – a seven-time Ballon d’Or winner – scored on a free kick from around 25 yards out in the 94th minute to help Inter Miami win 2-1 against Mexican club Cruz Azul in the Leagues Cup on Friday night.

His left foot sent the ball over a wall of four Cruz Azul defenders and into the top left corner of the net, arguably the greatest moment in Inter Miami’s short history. Play resumed about a minute before the referee’s whistle blew and fireworks shot into the night sky.

The World Cup winner was substituted on in the 54th minute of the Leagues Cup game

His stoppage-time free-kick secured a dramatic 2-1 win for his new team against Cruz Azul

He saw the ball sail into the net, something he has done some 800 times before for club and country, then sprinted to the right corner of the field and jumped into the arms of teammates.

Messi checked in early in the second half with Inter Miami leading 1-0. He hugged the player he was replacing, midfielder Benjamin Cremaschi, then trotted onto the field as the estimated crowd of 21,000 all seemed to be standing, almost all with phones to capture the moment.

It took Inter Miami four years of planning and two years of actual effort to bring Messi to the club.

“Worth it,” said co-owner David Beckham earlier this week.

How right he was.

No one even moved when the half-time whistle blew. The reason: Messi was on the field. He warmed up for about 5 minutes during the break with the other reserves before they all left for the locker room.

Then the fans could finally put their phones down and catch their breath. At least temporarily. The wait had officially begun: when did Messi come in? He resumed warmups as the second half got underway, jogging behind the endline at the Miami supporters’ section, and fans roared with delight as he waved to them.

David Beckham (L) said Inter Miami’s four years of planning for the game had paid off

And about eight minutes into the second half, the answer: it was Messi time.

The first Inter Miami goal of the Messi era was scored by Robert Taylor, who took a long cross from Robbie Robinson, entered the box and sent a low drive from the inside of the far post to the back of the net for a 1–0 lead late in the first half.

Messi jumped off his chair, threw up his hands, applauded several times and burst into a big smile.

Cruz Azul leveled the game after Messi checked in and had plenty of chances to take the lead late on. But the last act was Messi’s, a storybook ending if ever there was one.