Sports
Messi double propels Miami in 4-0 MLS win over NYCFC | The Express Tribune
NEW YORK:
Lionel Messi scored two goals and assisted on another as Inter Miami thumped New York City FC 4-0 on Wednesday to clinch an MLS Cup playoff berth.
Another classic performance from Messi propelled the Argentine superstar to the solo lead on Major League Soccer’s scoring list, taking him to 24 goals in 23 matches played — two more than LAFC’s Denis Bouanga.
Luis Suarez converted a penalty for Inter as he returned from a three-game ban for spitting on a Seattle staff member after Inter’s loss to the Sounders in the Leagues Cup final.
Baltazar Rodriguez also scored for Miami as they secured a playoff spot in convincing style.
Inter were clinging to a 1-0 lead at rainy City Field — home of Major League Baseball’s New York Mets — when Messi delivered a vintage goal in the 74th minute.
Put through by Sergio Busquets, Messi powered into the box, eluding one defender and neatly chipping a shot over Matt Freese as the New York goalkeeper dived at his feet.
After Suarez made it 3-0 from the spot, Messi struck again in the 86th with a precise angled shot from the right side of the box to the bottom left corner.
Inter were being outplayed early on in the awkward confines of the converted baseball field, but they seized the lead in the 43rd minute through Rodriguez.
Bousqets fed Messi, whose crisp through ball found the charging Rodriguez. The 22-year-old Argentine raced into the box and confidently slotted a low ball past Freese.
Until then the best chances belonged to New York.
Thiago Martins forced a save from Oscar Ustari with a header in the 21st minute.
One minute later NYCFC were denied again when Aiden O’Neill’s long-range shot was blocked and in the 29th minute Nicolas Fernandez hit the right post.
Ten minutes on Freese denied Messi, but eventually Miami made New York pay for their inability to finish.
Miami are in third place in the Eastern Conference, five points behind East leaders Philadelphia with two games in hand and still in with a chance to claim the Supporters’ Shield awarded to the team with the best overall regular-season record.
Messi, who will play the MLS Cup Playoffs for the second time, has three consecutive matches with at least one goal and one assist and has stamped himself a candidate for the 2025 Most Valuable Player award.
Sports
2026 Winter Olympics: Live updates from Milan Cortina
The second Sunday of the 2026 Winter Olympics is a busy one for fans of Team USA.
Mikaela Shiffrin skis in the giant slalom — the race she won at the 2018 Olympics, and her second shot at a medal in Milan Cortina. It’s also the race where she suffered a severe injury with a puncture wound in 2024. Shiffrin has had to deal with PTSD from the crash, and competing again in Olympic giant slalom is part of her comeback. Speedskater Erin Jackson will attempt to defend her Olympic gold in the 500 meters. Pairs figure skating begins, with Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea the top American pair. They had clutch performances to help the U.S. win gold in the team event and have an outside chance of a medal. And U.S. men’s hockey will be back in action against Germany.
Key events (all times ET)
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4:00 a.m. — Women’s giant slalom
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11:03 a.m. — Women’s 500m speedskating
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1:45 p.m. — Pairs figure skating
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3:10 p.m. — Men’s hockey (USA vs. Germany)
MORE: Medal tracker | Full schedule of events | Olympics 101
Here’s a live look at the top moments from Sunday’s events.
Sports
The biggest sporting event in Milan on Saturday wasn’t the Olympics
With a global sporting spectacle going on nearby, locals in Milan flooded San Siro to witness a riveting Derby d’Italia between Inter Milan and Juventus.
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Sports
Jamaica unveil snazzy kits ahead of World Cup playoffs
We’re four months away from the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, but if they manage to qualify, Jamaica might have already sewn up the competition for the snazziest kits with their new home and away strips unveiled Friday.
Both ensembles have been designed in collaboration with the Bob Marley Foundation and as such are positively drenched in the vivid red, green and gold colors that have become synonymous with the legendary reggae star and Rastafarian culture.
The home shirt has a yellow-gold base overlaid with a weave pattern that makes it look like the crocheted garments and Rasta headwear Marley wore in the 1970s. There are also horizontal bands in black, red and green that span the shirt and feature a pattern intended to resemble vinyl records.
The away shirt is arguably even livelier, with the Jamaican national colors once again used to create a black alternative design that pays homage to the rocksteady rhythm of the island’s music.
The dark base is covered in line-drawn patterns inspired by soundwaves, vinyl records and even the reels of old cassette tapes. The Reggae Boyz/Girlz tag on the collar is also inspired by the font used by Marley’s record label, Tuff Gong. Added to that, the use of the classic trefoil logo in gold just caps everything off nicely.
Marley was known to love soccer and regularly played in matches against fellow musicians and even professional players, notably several members of Brazil‘s famous teams of the 70s. As such, there is a tag attached to the lower hem of both 2026 jerseys that bears a portrait of the icon alongside his well-known quote, “Football is freedom.”
All that’s left now is for Jamaica to actually qualify for their first World Cup since 1998. The Reggae Boyz finished second behind surprise package Curaçao in Concacaf Group B, meaning that two rounds of interconfederation playoffs in March still stand between them and a place at this summer’s tournament.
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