Austin FC Deprives Messi, Inter Miami of Win in Stadium Debut

In the house that Messi built, in front of the Leo Messi Stand, with Lionel Messi himself on the pitch, the first goal in the history of Inter Miami’s new stadium – Nu Stadium – was of course scored by … Austin FC left back Guilherme Biro?

That was and will forever be the case, as Biro and the visiting Verde and Black threw a wrench in the plans of Major League Soccer’s latest stadium grand opening and deprived Inter Miami of a win in that club’s first-ever match in Miami proper.

25,000 Miami fans, along with a few hundred traveling Austinites, navigated the active construction site that surrounded the airport-adjacent venue on all sides, and filed into the classically styled soccer-specific stadium – reminiscent of a midsized Spanish or Italian club’s home ground – to make “I was there” memories. Those memories included a welcome speech from Inter Miami part-owner David Beckham, a national anthem performance by Marc Anthony, and Biro’s opening goal off a corner kick in the sixth minute to cement himself as the answer to a great piece of MLS trivia.

From an entertainment standpoint, the match was well worthy of the occasion, with scoring chances regularly falling to both sides. And while Messi was deprived of the first goal in Nu Stadium’s history, he would not be denied the first Inter Miami goal in the building’s lore.

It came in the 10th minute at the end of some beautiful build-up by the defending MLS Cup champions. Miami fullback Ian Fray clipped a cross from the end line back to the penalty spot, where the diminutive Messi appeared for a header, driving the ball past Brad Stuver for the quick equalizing goal.

Both Myrto Uzuni and Facundo Torres had shots ricochet off the post for the visitors, who were unlucky not to reach halftime with a lead.

They’d get one shortly after the start of the second half, though, as Joseph Rosales skillfully dispossessed Messi and initiated a counter-attack for Austin FC. Rosales connected with Uzuni, who then found the run of Jayden Nelson – who came on as a halftime substitute for Torres after Torres suffered a minor groin pull. Nelson stared down fellow Canadian international Dayne St. Clair in Miami’s goal, and fired a perfect shot that kissed off the upright and into the net.

“I’ve been in camps with him many times, so I know his tendencies,” said Nelson, noting that he took his shot earlier than he typically would in order to catch St. Clair off guard.

Minutes later, Austin survived one of Messi’s patented free kicks, which drifted just inches wide of Stuver’s goal. The Verde and Black defended with guile as Miami applied more and more pressure in search of an equalizing goal, dominating both possession and shots as the second half unfolded.

Ultimately, though, it was the other former FC Barcelona legend, Luis Suárez off the bench, that popped up at the back post after a Miami corner kick to score the goal to bring things level at 2-2, which would hold up as the final score.

As a result, Austin FC was denied what would’ve been a statement victory over MLS’s flagship club, but still managed to make a positive impression under the spotlight of the occasion.

“The thing that you have to ask your team and your players is to feel proud about the performance. And I think we look at today, we feel proud about our performance,” head coach Nico Estévez said. “We had moments. We had a plan.”

Estévez added that Beckham made a point to find the Austin staff after the match and congratulate them on that game plan, which nearly spoiled the English icon’s big night. 

“It’s all noise at the end of the day,” Nelson said of the hoopla surrounding the stadium opening. “When the whistle blows, it’s 11 [against] 11, and the best team wins at the end of the day. We knew that they had some weaknesses. Yes, they do have the best player in the world on the pitch, but we’re able to exploit their weaknesses tonight, and you can see that in the game.”

After consecutive draws against the league’s two biggest clubs, LAFC and Inter Miami, Austin FC returns to Q2 Stadium to take on another flagship franchise, LA Galaxy, Saturday afternoon.

For more Austin FC news and analysis, visit The Austin Chronicle’s Austin FC hub. Sign up for The Verde Report newsletter to get the latest news delivered straight to your inbox, and follow The Verde Report columnist Eric Goodman on X: @goodman.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated. We originally said Ricky Martin sang the national anthem at Nu Stadium’s opening game, when, in fact, Marc Anthony fulfilled that duty. We apologize for the error.

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