Lod earns very-first All-Star Game selection, joins MLS side that squares-off against LIGA MX All-Stars

Minnesota United announced today, along with Major League Soccer, that Finnish international midfielder Robin Lod was selected as a 2024 MLS All-Star by All-Star head coach Wilfried Nancy. The 2024 MLS All-Star Game, presented by Target, will be played on Wednesday, July 24 at Lower.com Field in Columbus, Ohio. Lod is the first Minnesota United player to be selected since goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair and midfielder Emmanuel Reynoso represented the Loons during the 2022 All-Star Game hosted in the Twin Cities.

Since joining the club in 2019, Lod has appeared in 121 MNUFC games across all competitions, scoring 29 goals and recording 26 assists. After tearing his meniscus and missing most of the 2023 season, Lod has contributed to 16 out of the 33 goals scored by Minnesota United with five goals and a team-high 11 assists in the 2024 season. Notably, the Finnish international recently became the all-time leading goal scorer for the club in its MLS history with a total of 29 goals across all competitions, surpassing former forward Darwin Quintero and midfielder Emanuel Reynoso’s record.

The MLS All-Star Game, presented by Target, at Lower.com Field will be available to watch in more than 100 countries and regions in English, Spanish, and French on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV at 7:00 p.m. CT. Fans can subscribe to MLS Season Pass now through the Apple TV app on Apple devices, smart TVs, streaming devices, set-top boxes, game consoles, and the web at tv.apple.com.

In conjunction with LIGA MX, the MLS All-Star roster was expanded to 30 players in 2024 to provide additional depth. The roster was selected through a combination of fan, player, and media voting (12 players), designations by MLS All-Star head coach Wilfried Nancy (16 players), and a pair of selections by MLS Commissioner Don Garber.

The Commissioner’s picks for the 2024 MLS All-Star Game are Columbus Crew midfielder Darlington Nagbe and Houston Dynamo FC midfielder Héctor Herrera.

The 2024 MLS All-Star roster by position and selection mechanism:

GOALKEEPERS (3): Roman Bürki (St. Louis CITY SC / Coach’s Selection), Hugo Lloris (LAFC / Coach’s Selection),Maarten Paes (FC Dallas / Voted in)

DEFENDERS (9): Jordi Alba (Inter Miami CF / Voted In), Rudy Camacho (Columbus Crew / Coach’s Selection), Justen Glad (Real Salt Lake / Voted In), Aaron Herrera (D.C. United / Voted In), Thiago Martins (New York City FC / Coach’s Selection), Steven Moreira (Columbus Crew / Coach’s Selection), Luca Orellano (FC Cincinnati / Coach’s Selection), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati / Voted In), Keegan Rosenberry (Colorado Rapids / Coach’s Selection)

MIDFIELDERS (10): Luciano Acosta (FC Cincinnati / Voted In), Sergio Busquets (Inter Miami CF / Voted In), Mathieu Choinière (CF Montréal / Coach’s Selection), Evander (Portland Timbers / Coach’s Selection), Ryan Gauld (Vancouver Whitecaps FC / Coach’s Selection), Héctor Herrera (Houston Dynamo FC / Commissioner’s Pick), Robin Lod (Minnesota United FC / Coach’s Selection), Hany Mukhtar (Nashville SC / Coach’s Selection), Darlington Nagbe (Columbus Crew / Commissioner’s Pick), Riqui Puig (LA Galaxy / Voted In)

FORWARDS / WINGERS (8): Cristian ‘Chicho’ Arango (Real Salt Lake / Voted In), Christian Benteke (D.C. United / Voted In), Federico Bernardeschi (Toronto FC / Coach’s Selection), Denis Bouanga (LAFC / Coach’s Selection), Juan ‘Cucho’ Hernández (Columbus Crew / Coach’s Selection), Lionel Messi (Inter Miami CF / Voted In), Luis Suárez (Inter Miami CF / Voted In), Diego Rossi (Columbus Crew / Coach’s Selection)

Highlights of the 2024 MLS All-Star roster include the following:

• Leading the way with five selections is the host club and defending MLS Cup presented by Audi champion Columbus Crew, which is the most by a club since the Seattle Sounders had six in 2021. Supporters’ Shield leader Inter Miami CF ranks second with four players selected.

• Three Columbus players will be making their All-Star debut – forward Cucho Hernández and defenders Steven Moreira and Rudy Camacho – while Diego Rossi will be making his third overall All-Star appearance (2019 and 2021 with LAFC) and first with the Crew. Darlington Nagbe, a Commissioner’s pick, will also be making his third All-Star appearance (2016 with the Portland Timbers and 2022 with the Crew).

• All four Inter Miami selections were voted into the All-Star Game in their first year on the ballot: forwards Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez, midfielder Sergio Busquets, and left back Jordi Alba.

• Overall, 18 clubs are represented on this year’s All-Star Game roster: FC Cincinnati, Colorado Rapids, Columbus Crew, D.C. United, FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo FC, Inter Miami CF, LA Galaxy, LAFC, Minnesota United FC, CF Montréal, Nashville SC, New York City FC, Portland Timbers, Real Salt Lake, St. Louis CITY SC, Toronto FC, and Vancouver Whitecaps FC.

• The All-Stars were born in 17 different countries: Argentina (three), Brazil (two), Canada (one), Colombia (two), Democratic Republic of the Congo (one), Finland (one), France (four), Germany (one), Italy (one), Liberia (one), Mexico (one), the Netherlands (one), Scotland (one), Spain (three), Switzerland (one), the United States (four), and Uruguay (two).

• Eighteen of the 30 players will be making their MLS All-Star Game debut, while four players - Luciano Acosta (FC Cincinnati), Hany Mukhtar (Nashville SC), Darlington Nagbe (Columbus Crew), and Diego Rossi (Columbus Crew) - will each be making their third All-Star appearance, the most of any players on the 2024 roster.

• Ten club captains were named to the MLS All-Star roster: Luciano Acosta (FC Cincinnati), Chicho Arango (Real Salt Lake), Roman Bürki (St. Louis CITY SC), Ryan Gauld (Vancouver Whitecaps FC), Héctor Herrera (Houston Dynamo FC), Thiago Martins (New York City FC), Lionel Messi (Inter Miami CF), Hany Mukhtar (Nashville SC), Darlington Nagbe (Columbus Crew), and Keegan Rosenberry (Colorado Rapids).

• Eight players who have received MLS Best XI accolades feature on the roster: Luciano Acosta (three), Denis Bouanga (one), Roman Bürki (one), Cucho Hernández (one), Héctor Herrera (one), Hany Mukhtar (three), Miles Robinson (two), and Diego Rossi (one).

• Eight of the 30 players on the All-Star roster made their MLS debut in 2023 or later: Jordi Alba (Inter Miami CF), Roman Bürki (St. Louis CITY SC), Sergio Busquets (Inter Miami CF), Evander (Portland Timbers), Hugo Lloris (LAFC), Lionel Messi (Inter Miami CF), Luca Orellano (FC Cincinnati), and Luis Suárez (Inter Miami CF).

• All three Canadian MLS clubs are featured on an All-Star roster for the first time since 2018: CF Montréal (Mathieu Choinière), Toronto FC (Federico Bernardeschi), and Vancouver Whitecaps FC (Ryan Gauld).

• Three former MLS Golden Boot presented by Audi winners are included on the roster: Denis Bouanga (2023, LAFC), Hany Mukhtar (2022, Nashville SC), and Diego Rossi (2020, LAFC).

• Three World Cup champions are featured on the roster: Argentina’s Lionel Messi (Inter Miami CF), France’s Hugo Lloris (LAFC), and Spain’s Sergio Busquets (Inter Miami CF).

Tickets for the MLS All-Star Game presented by Target are on sale at MLSSoccer.com/All-Star or by clicking here.