MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Lionel Messi and Inter Miami came to Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday as the Club World Cup’s handpicked opening act, but left with a laborious 0-0 draw, and with waning hopes that they can compete on this first-of-its-kind global stage.
They got exposed at times by the champions of Egypt, Al Ahly, and were fortunate to come away with a point.
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They entered the tournament publicly doubting whether they could measure up to what head coach Javier Mascherano call a “level higher than what we’ve faced in CONCACAF and MLS,” and almost instantly, their worries were realized.
In the months and weeks building up to the opener, they were the headliners, supposedly the main attraction. But they were quickly overwhelmed by Al Ahly — by its players, who were organized and sharp; and by its fans, who paraded into the stadium hours before kickoff and made Miami a quasi-road team at home.
For much of the first 45 minutes, the Herons played at an MLS pace, which they soon learned was nowhere near fast enough. They played with MLS intensity, which everyone soon realized was no match for African Champions League intensity.
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They were sloppy. And nearly every time they lost the ball, they were gaping holes in their midfield. Al Ahly would break, sometimes 2-v-2 or 3-v-3. Less than eight minutes in, Trézéguet and Emam Ashour created the first of several chances, but Miami goalkeeper Óscar Ustari made his first of several big saves.
The pattern continued throughout the first half. Inter seemed discombobulated, and tactically inferior against a team that has only spent two weeks with its new coach. Miami’s Tomás Avilés and Federico Redondo both took yellow cards to hack down counterattacks. Avilés was lucky not to be sent off for a second hard foul on the edge of the penalty box 14 minutes later.
The one-way traffic rolled on and on until, finally, in the 41st minute, it yielded a penalty. Red-clad fans rose, expectantly, ready to explode, both in celebration and relief.
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Trézéguet’s spot-kick, though, was saved by a diving Ustari.
And — after an acrobatic clearance at the other end denied Miami its best chance of the half in stoppage time — the two teams retreated to their locker rooms still level at 0-0. There was little doubt, though, which one had been better.
“We have to improve in transition,” Inter head coach Javier Mascherano told DAZN at halftime. “We are losing the ball, sometimes we are not well-organized. … They are very dangerous.”
Coming out of halftime, though, the game flipped. Miami’s passes began to connect. Messi began to dictate the game a bit. He tested Al Ahly goalkeeper Mohamed El Shenawy. He whipped a low free kick just past the post. (The back side of the back of the net rippled; thousands of fans thought that, at last, was the breakthrough.)
The breakthrough, though, never came. And the two sides settled for a stalemate that suits neither in a group that also includes Portugal’s FC Porto and Brazil’s Palmeiras.
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