Feb. 20 (UPI) -- Lionel Messi chested down a pass, rolled the ball right and ripped a shot just inside the far post for the lone goal in a win over Sporting Kansas City to open Inter Miami's Concacaf Champions Cup campaign.

Messi found the net in the 56th minute of the triumph Wednesday at Children's Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kan. Midfielder Sergio Busquets assisted the score in the first game of the two-legged matchup.

"I thought we played really well, we were very organized defensively," Sporting Kansas City coach Peter Vermes told reporters. "We didn't give anything away. There is one guy [Messi] that can turn the game over and he did.

"Outside of that, I thought we were really good."

Wednesday's match, which was postponed from Tuesday because of a winter storm, was played in single-digit temperatures.

"I'm very proud because I think it's impossible to play in these conditions," Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano said. "It is not human, you know, so I'm very proud because they gave me 100% with intensity, with a lot of attitude, so we are happy.

"We are in the halftime of the qualifiers, so now try to rest after a very difficult game for us."

The Herons outshot the Wizards 9-7, but placed just one attempt on net. They controlled 60% of possession. The Wizards and Herons played a scoreless first half. Messi broke the deadlock about 10 minutes into the second.

Busquets held the ball about 40 yards from the net to start that sequence. He then stopped and smacked a pass over the right side of the defense, leading Messi into the box. The Argentine star pushed out his chest to softly stop the ball, which dropped to his feet. He then tapped the ball right while being chased by four defenders. Messi finished the play with a right-footed shot between the group of defenders and Wizards goalie John Pulskam.

The Wizards went on to outshoot the Herons 3-1 down the stretch, but could not beat goalie Oscar Ustari for an equalizer. Ustari logged three saves for the Herons.

The Herons, who played in their first official match of 2025, will host New York City FC in their MLS regular-season opener at 7:30 p.m. EST Saturday in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. They will host Sporting Kansas City in the second leg of their first-round matchup Tuesday at Chase Stadium.

The winner of the Miami-Kansas City matchup will advance to the Round of 16 of the tournament, which features teams from North American, Central America and the Caribbean.