COLUMBUS, Ohio — It’s a debut that has been months in the making but has twice been delayed.

But on Wednesday night at Lower.com Field in Columbus, the player considered by many to be the greatest of his generation gets his first crack at a burgeoning juggernaut.

On paper, it’s just a Wednesday night regular season match in Major League Soccer between Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami and the Columbus Crew. But in some ways, it means much, much more.

It’s a matchup featuring arguably the best soccer player of the 2000s against a team with a resume as good as any in North America lately. The Crew have won four major trophies in the 2020s, including two MLS Cups, the 2021 Campeones Cup and the 2024 Leagues Cup.

Wednesday’s match, however, won’t be Messi’s first in the state of Ohio. His Inter Miami team played at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati last season in a U.S. Open Cup semifinal match vs. FC Cincinnati. Inter Miami won in penalties, 3-3 (5-4).

This will be Messi’s first Ohio match in MLS play, and the stakes could not be higher for both squads.

The Crew sit in second place in the Eastern Conference, eight points behind Inter Miami, but with a match in hand. They have three matches left this season after Wednesday, while Inter Miami has just two.

So any hopes of the Crew staying alive in the race for the Supporters’ Shield, given to the best regular season team in MLS, along with home field throughout the playoffs, start with defeating Messi and Miami Wednesday night.

However, an Inter Miami win clinches the Supporters’ Shield.

The two clubs have played twice this season: once in the regular season in Miami and once in the Leagues Cup in Columbus. The home team won both matches, but Messi did not play either match due to an ankle injury he suffered in Copa America 2024 playing for Argentina.

His injury also kept him out of the 2024 MLS All-Star Game in July, which was also played in Columbus.

Even at 36, Messi has still been very good in MLS with 15 goals and 11 assists in 16 matches. He scored his 15th of the season on Saturday in a 1-1 draw at home vs. Charlotte FC.

Inter Miami is 9-1-6 in the 16 MLS matches Messi has played this season and 10-4-2 when he’s out of the lineup. Part of why Inter Miami has been successful despite Messi being in and out of the lineup is that he brought several of his old teammates from Barcelona with him in Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba.

But what awaits Messi and company on Wednesday night is the reigning MLS Cup champions and one of the best home-field advantages in North American soccer.

How to watch for free on FS1 at 7:30 p.m. Eastern: Fubo (free trial), DirecTV Stream (free trial). Also, Sling has promotional offers) and MLS Season Pass.

The Crew have lost just two home matches since May, both in controversial fashion.

They suffered a 4-0 loss to the Seattle Sounders on Sept. 7, but it was a game where their top two goalkeepers were on international duty and their third-string keeper was sent off in the 38th minute. It forced midfielder and Olmsted Falls native Sean Zawadzki into goal with his team down a man for the final 52 minutes of regulation. The team was not allowed to bring in a fourth goalkeeper, leaving manager Wilfried Nancy to rip the decision after the match to not allow the Crew to add an emergency goalkeeper.

On Sept. 25, the Crew lost the Campeones Cup to Mexico side Club America, 1-1 (5-4 on penalties). But that match had its own controversial moment. The Crew’s Malte Amundsen missed off the crossbar in the sixth round of the penalty shootout. However, Club America goalkeeper Luis Malagon was off his line prior to Amundsen’s kick.

VAR was not used, and Club America won the match on the next penalty, denying the Crew a fifth trophy in the 2020s.

Lately, Columbus has been a fortress where few teams have success. Inter Miami felt that earlier this season in the Leagues Cup Round of 16 on Aug. 13 when it blew a 2-0 lead in the final 23 minutes. The Crew won, 3-2, on its way to winning the Leagues Cup.

Columbus also has its own firepower to counter what Messi brings.

Cucho Hernandez is among the league’s most dynamic offensive threats, with 16 goals and 13 assists in 24 matches, earning him serious consideration to be league MVP.

They also boast the league’s best defense, allowing just 31 goals in 30 matches. Only three other clubs have allowed fewer than 40 goals.

It’s very possible Wednesday night is a preview of the Eastern Conference Final. Inter Miami and Columbus are the two best teams in points per match and they’ve already played two thrilling matches.

But with Messi being available Wednesday night, the dynamic changes entirely.

It’s the face of Major League Soccer vs. the most successful team of the 2020s.

While the nature of soccer never guarantees that there will be a winner, this is the kind of matchup that MLS hoped it could have when Messi came to Miami.

Something will have to give between the world-famous superstar and the dynamic team, even if the two sides split the points.

If nothing else, it’s a chance for the two sides to send a message for what December and the MLS playoffs may bring.

Match facts

Who: Inter Miami (19-4-8, 65 points) at Columbus Crew (16-5-9, 57 points).

When: Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024.

Time: 7:30 p.m. Eastern.

Where: Lower.com Field, Columbus.

TV: FS1.

Best live streaming options: Fubo (free trial), DirecTV Stream (free trial), Sling (promotional offers) and MLS Season Pass.

No. 8 Miami survived quite the scare on Friday night in a game against Virginia Tech that came down to the very final play in regulation.

And at least one national analyst in questioning the system when it comes to officiating.

Virginia Tech nearly snatched a win in the final moments when it threw a Hail Mary into the end zone. Initially, a whole slew of people came down right where the ball was. There was no call at first.

“I mean do any of us really trust that Virginia Tech didn’t catch that Hail Mary in the back of the end zone?” FOX Sports’ Joel Klatt said on The Joel Klatt Show.

“Folks: One, I don’t know how you just signal touchdown that late. People are celebrating. Is it a touchdown? And all the sudden his arms just kind of go up, like no one’s going to see him. Touchdown? Almost like it was a question. I’m Ron Burgundy? So now it’s a touchdown and it’s like, ‘Well, we’ve got to review it.’ Then they overturn the Ron Burgundy touchdown. And then it’s like overruled. It’s like hold on, hold on. How did both of those calls get made? I think both of them are probably wrong. It’s probably not a catch, but you can’t overturn it if that’s the way it’s called. I think it was all wrong, and it calls into question, by the way, what I’ve been banging on for a long time, why do we have conference officials and not national officials?”

The call favored Miami, which hung on to win after an improbable back-and-forth in the waning moments. The Hurricanes’ perfect season and their College Football Playoff chances remained intact.

Of course, Klatt pointed to the fact that it was ACC referees making the call as a point of interest.

“Because it at least can bring up the element of a conflict of interest,” he explained. “And I’m not suggesting that there’s a conflict of interest here, but in a day and age in which conferences are highly competitive with each other for spots in the playoff, for revenue, for all of it, all of it. They’re just highly competitive with each other.

“And now all the sudden you get your officials and your replay center involved in a call with the team that is your highest-ranked team. That is a conflict of interest. This is why we should change the way that we have officials slated and governed in college football. It should be a national officiating body in college football.”

Miami survived and won, but it’s hard not to see the logic in Klatt’s argument about the officiating. It’s a system that certainly invites some unwelcome questions.

The Miami Dolphins’ struggles continued Monday night when they dropped their third consecutive game, losing 31-12 against the Tennessee Titans at Hard Rock Stadium.

The Dolphins lost in prime time for a fifth consecutive time dating back to last season, a streak that included another loss against the Tennessee Titans last December.

The loss dropped the Dolphins record to 1-3.

We examined the five biggest storylines ahead of this Week 4 matchup, so it’s time to revisit them to see how they played out.

Before the game: The Dolphins will have a third different starting quarterback in three weeks, with Tyler “Snoop” Huntley getting his shot after Tua Tagovailoa and Skylar Thompson began Weeks 2 and 3. The hope is that Huntley’s experience from his time with the Baltimore Ravens can make a difference, along with his scrambling ability, something the Dolphins haven’t had at the position in quite a long time.

During the game: As was the case with Thompson against Seattle, Huntley didn’t play particularly well and he also didn’t get a lot of help from his teammates. Huntley missed a couple of throws he needed to make, mostly to Tyreek Hill, and he also wasn’t helped by drops by Hill and Jaylen Waddle. The passing numbers were very forgettable, but Huntley did lead the team in rushing with 40 yards.

Before the game: It will be a challenge for the Dolphins offensive line without starting left tackle Terron Armstead, who will be replaced in the starting lineup by either veteran Kendall Lamm or rookie second-round pick Patrick Paul for what would be his first NFL start.

During the game: It indeed was Patrick Paul who started at left tackle in place of Armstead for his first NFL start, and it was another rough outing for this group. De’Von Achane and Jaylen Wright combined to rush for 47 yards on 19 carries, a paltry 2.5 average. And we don’t need to mention the short-yardage issues.

Before the game: Second-year Titans quarterback Will Levis has really struggled so far this season, leading the NFL in turnovers through three weeks. Still, the Dolphins saw the good Will Levis when Tennessee came to Hard Rock Stadium for that forgettable Monday night matchup last December. Levis passed for 327 yards that night, 65 more yards than his next-highest total as an NFL quarterback. Levis, of course, engineered two late touchdown drives to help the Titans complete their stunning comeback from a 27-13 deficit.

During the game: As it turned out, Levis became a non-factor because of a shoulder injury, but only after gifting the Dolphins a turnover when he threw the ball right at Emmanuel Ogbah after he dropped into coverage off a zone blitz. When Mason Rudolph entered the game, he basically was asked to simply not turn the ball over, a sound strategy considering the struggles of the Dolphins offense.

Before the game: Levis’s favorite target on that December 2023 night was, not surprisingly, star wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who had seven catches for 124 yards, the touchdown that brought Tennessee to within six points, and the longest play of the game-winning drive, a 36-yard pick-up on the very first play. The Dolphins defense can’t let Hopkins get loose like this again, and this is where Jalen Ramsey can and wants to step in. Remember the frustration last year with DC Vic Fangio and his refusal to let Ramsey shadow a wide receiver? Well, that’s been expected to change in 2024 with new defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver, and we saw a little bit of that last week when Ramsey was sometimes matched up against DK Metcalf. We’d expect Ramsey to get assigned to guard Hopkins on more snaps than not in this game, and it’ll be a battle to watch.

During the game: Because of the circumstances of the game, the Titans weren’t interested in throwing very much, which made Hopkins pretty much a non-factor. He caught only two passes for 31 yards, though he also drew a DPI against Kader Kohou in a third-down situation in the third quarter. As it turned out, the Dolphins didn’t really have Ramsey shadow Hopkins, but it was a non-factor in this game.

Before the game: A big talking point around the Dolphins and their offense during training camp concerned what new tight end Jonnu Smith could bring to the position, given his athletic ability and yards-after-catch prowess. Three games into the season, we’re still waiting for Smith to have some impact, and this would be a great time to start, considering he’ll be facing the team with which he began his NFL career in 2017. Smith is one of five former Tennessee players on the Dolphins roster, along with starting center Aaron Brewer, starting linebacker David Long, Jr., tackle Kendall Lamm, and defensive tackle Da’Shawn Hand.

During the game: And … we’re still waiting. It was another uneventful game for Smith, who didn’t catch a pass and was targeted only once. Given the issues on offense right now, it’s kind of curious as to why the Dolphins aren’t getting Smith — or any tight end, really — more involved in the passing game. It’s also not like the tight ends are doing great work in run blocking or pass protection, either. It wasn’t a much better evening for Brewer or Hand, while Lamm was limited to special teams and Long couldn’t play because of his hamstring injury.