NYC Star Edged Messi As Player Of The Week As James Rodriguez Rubbishes Retirement Rumours | OneFootball

Lionel Messi gave a World Cup preview in Toronto with a well-received star showing, but a hat-trick in New York was the standout performance of another busy Matchweek in Major League Soccer.

In a weekend full of headlines and World Cup considerations, it was no surprise that James Rodríguez also featured, as he looks set to leave early to prepare for the summer tournament, but talk of retirement might have been premature.

Messi roadshow graces Canadian World Cup venue

One of the quirks of Messi in MLS is that he and his team are as popular away from home as they are back in Miami.

They garner significant support on their travels, and if anything, fans getting a rare chance to see Messi in their hometown can lead to more enthusiasm for the team in away games than there is back home, where matches no longer sell out.

His presence regularly leads to attendance records being broken on the road, and that was the case again when Inter Miami travelled to Toronto this weekend for a game at a 2026 World Cup venue.

Toronto’s BMO Field has been expanded using temporary seating to accommodate over 45,000 fans for World Cup games, and with the new stands open for the first time for the visit of Messi’s Miami, an attendance record of 44,828 was set.

On the one hand, it seems unusual that an opposition player would be the most celebrated player, but on the other, Messi isn’t a usual player, and MLS isn't a usual league.

There weren’t just cheers for Messi, either. There were pockets of celebration across the ground for Inter Miami’s first three goals scored by Rodrigo De Paul, Luis Suárez, and Sergio Reguillon, but when Messi got in on the act in the 75th minute to make it 4-0 to the visitors, the stadium erupted.

The hardcore TFC fans situated behind one of the goals, waving flags and singing songs despite their team’s comprehensive defeat, did have something to cheer late on as Emilio Aristizábal scored twice in the last 10 minutes to make the score slightly more respectable, but this was just the latest stop of the Messi roadshow, and the continuation unusual phenomenon in sport where the opposition team and player are celebrated.

Wolf in The Bronx

Messi’s performance in Toronto, which saw him notch two assists as well as his goal, earned him a FotMob rating of 9.3, but one player managed to better that in Matchweek 12.

New York City were desperately in need of a win, having failed to build on a promising start to the season.

Going into Sunday night’s game against Columbus Crew at Yankee Stadium, NYCFC were without a league win since mid-March, and questions were being asked of their approach to the season, which looked to be petering out even before the break for the World Cup.

This recovery against the Crew, though, was more convincing and matched their good recent performances in the US Open Cup against Westchester SC and New York Red Bulls.

As these cup performances finally transferred to the league, Austrian winger Hannes Wolf was the star of the show, netting a hat-trick which produced a FotMob rating of 9.6.

It was a clinical performance from Wolf, the kind of which has sometimes been missing in the absence of injured striker Alonso Martínez. He only had three touches in the Columbus box, but each was a goal.

Jack McGlynn asks USMNT question

On the face of it, the final game of the matchweek looked like a shock result, but Houston Dynamo have been on a decent run of late, and Sunday night’s win against LAFC was their sixth in seven games.

Buoyed by two victories in the US Open Cup, Houston have climbed to mid-table in the Western Conference, and picked up this statement win in LA to announce their recent good run to a wider audience.

The star of the show for Houston was American midfielder Jack McGlynn, whose technique and world-class ball striking mean his team don't need to create the most clear-cut of chances for him to find the net.

United States coach and assistant to Marucio Pochettino, Jesús Pérez, was watching from the stands and will no doubt return with a glowing report of McGlynn.

Injuries to midfielders Johnny Cardoso and Tanner Tessmann in recent weeks might open up a spot in the US roster, and even though McGlynn is not the same profile of player as those who will be battling to be fit for World Cup squad announcements and training camps, he could benefit if places in the 26-man squad become available.

His two outstanding goals, fired into the corner of the goal with apparent ease with his left foot, showed what an asset he could be for the US this summer.

Is James Rodríguez World Cup-ready?

Speaking of World Cups and heavily attack-focused playmakers, news emerged this weekend that James would be leaving Minnesota to join up with the Colombian national team setup early ahead of this summer's tournament.

His move to MLS was always with an eye on getting fit to represent his country, but with flashes of play like this, Minnesota fans will be disappointed to lose him so soon, as he looks set to depart next week.

James showed he is still capable of running a game in attack with a standout performance off the bench for the Loons, helping his team come back from 1-0 down to assist two goals in a game that finished 2-2.

The 34-year-old also rubbished any rumours that he is set to retire, commenting after the game that he believes he has a couple of years left in him. On this evidence, MLS might be a good place to play out those final years.