Best moments from teammates facing off: Trout vs. Ohtani

Tuesday night’s World Baseball Classic final between the United States and Japan will feature some of the best Major League Baseball players in the world.

The star attraction is US outfielder Mike Trout, who plays Los Angeles Angels teammate Shohei Ohtani. If Ohtani serves in relief, it would be a battle between two of the greatest players in the game today – and one that we only get to see in international competitions.

It’s always a pleasure when two incredible teammates compete against each other. Here are some other examples that we remember from the turn of the century.

Lionel Messi vs. Kylian Mbappe (FIFA World Cup 2022)

Paris Saint-Germain teammates put on a show in the World Cup final between Argentina and France. Messi’s early penalty seemed to make all the difference in the game and Argentina were 2-0 up until the 80th minute. However, Mbappe put the team on their backs and scored a penalty in the 80th and a volley in the 81st to send things into overtime. Messi appeared to score the winning goal again in the 108th minute, but Mbappe scored another penalty in the 118th, becoming only the second player in history to score a hat-trick in the men’s World Cup final. Both players scored in their penalty attempts but Argentina won in the end.

Kobe Bryant vs. Pau Gasol (2008 Summer Olympics)

Spain was the reigning FIBA ​​World Champion at the Summer Olympics but had to compete against the Redeem Team. Kobe Bryant led a team that included LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Paul, all coached by Mike Krzyzewski. Gasol put 21 points behind Los Angeles Lakers teammate Bryant’s 20, but the USA prevailed 118-108.

Sue Bird vs. Lauren Jackson (2004 Summer Olympics)

Bird and Jackson were the anchors of the Seattle Storm during the team’s 2004 championship run. When USA faced Australia in the women’s basketball gold medal game, Bird mostly sat on the bench with Jackson leading both teams in rebounds. Leading the entire game, the USA made significant gains in the fourth quarter to win the gold medal with a 74-63 performance.

2010 Men’s Olympic Ice Hockey Gold Medal Game

Some big names here – Pittsburgh Penguins teammates Sidney Crosby (Canada) and Brooks Orpik (USA) competed, as did Chicago Blackhawks stars Jonathan Toews (Canada) and Patrick Kane (USA). The real kicker, however, was Ryan Kresler, who scored for the USA against his Vancouver Canucks teammate Roberto Luongo. Luckily for Luongo, Canada prevailed 3-2 in overtime.

2002 Men’s Olympic Ice Hockey Gold Medal Game

This one is a dork. Team Canada defeated Team USA 5-2, but just look at the line-up of teammates who met here:

New York Rangers: Theo Fleury and Eric Lindros (Canada) vs. Brian Leetch, Tom Poti, Mike York and Mike Richter (USA)

St. Louis Blues: Al MacInnis and Chris Pronger (Canada) vs. Keith Tkachuk, Doug Weight and Scott Young (USA)

Colorado Avalanche: Rob Blake, Adam Foote and Joe Sakic (Canada) vs. Chris Drury (USA)

Detroit Red Wings: Brendan Shanahan and Steve Yzerman (Canada) vs. Chris Chelios and Brett Hull (USA)

New Jersey Devil: Martin Brodeur and Scott Niedermayer (Canada) vs. Brian Rafalski (USA)

Philadelphia Flyer: Simon Gagne (Canada) vs. John LeClair and Jeremy Roenick (USA)

Dallas Stars: Joe Nieuwendyk (Canada) vs. Mike Modano (USA)

Sharks of San Jose: Owen Nolan (Canada) vs. Gary Suter (USA)

Plenty of bragging rights for the Canadian teammates in those eight post-Olympic dressing rooms, we bet.