Lionel Messi and Inter Miami were unable to break through as they played to a goalless draw against Egypt’s Al Ahly in their Club World Cup Group A opener on Saturday night.
The highly anticipated fixture drew a near-capacity crowd of 60,927 fans to Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, home of the NFL’s Dolphins, as both sides battled under the lights.
Despite Messi’s presence, the Argentine icon was kept at bay, coming closest in the final seconds with a curling shot that was tipped onto the crossbar.
Inter Miami had goalkeeper Oscar Ustari to thank for keeping the clean sheet intact, particularly after he saved a penalty from Trézéguet late in the first half.
Al Ahly had started brightly, creating multiple chances, but were left ruing their missed opportunities.
“We have to constantly improve as a team,” Ustari said after the game. “We’re a very young team, and some people don’t see it, but Inter made history. They’ve only been developing for a few years, and today they’re playing in the Club World Cup, so we have to value that.
“We finish with the feeling that we could have scored, and I think we were superior. The upcoming opponent will be completely different, so we have to rest and focus on our future.”
Inter Miami will next face FC Porto in Atlanta on Thursday, while Al Ahly, buoyed by passionate support from the stands, will head to New York to take on Palmeiras, where even more fans are expected to back the Egyptian side.
“I’m disappointed with the result. We could have taken all three points. We respect Inter Miami and their big-name players, but we could’ve finished the game in the first half by scoring three or four goals,” Al Ahly forward Wessam Abou Ali said in reflection.
Messi, who briefly went down after a knock to the knee, gradually grew into the match and nearly found the breakthrough on several occasions.
His trademark free kick struck the post early in the second half, and with just minutes remaining, his cross was met by Fafà Picault, whose header was denied by goalkeeper Mohamed El Shenawy.
In the final play of the match, Messi’s powerful strike was again thwarted by El Shenawy, grazing the bar.
Head coach, Javier Mascherano, expressed measured satisfaction with the team’s second-half resurgence.
“I think happy with the performance, much better in the second half,” Mascherano told DAZN. “In the second half, I think we created chances, we controlled the game and we had the chances to score and win the game.
“Maybe in the first half we were excited, we were nervous, we didn’t move the ball from one side to the other. So we tried to translate to the players to be calm, we have to keep possession, we can find the spaces to attack better.”
Despite the scoreline, the event showcased the growing interest in the newly expanded 32-team Club World Cup, ahead of next year’s FIFA World Cup hosted by the United States.
Inter Miami, whose home stadium holds just over 21,000, continues to draw massive attention on the road thanks to Messi’s star power.
Off the pitch, around 1,000 demonstrators gathered earlier near former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beachap, proximately 70 miles from the stadium, as part of the nationwide “No Kings” protest movement.
However, no incidents were reported in or around the stadium during the match.
Sunday’s Club World Cup action continues with PSG facing Atlético Madrid, while Bayern Munich square off against Auckland City.