Lionel Messi, Inter Miami Disappoint Fans with Draw vs. Al Ahly in FIFA Club World Cup

The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup is officially underway, as Lionel Messi and Inter Miami played in a scoreless draw against Al Ahly in Group A action.

Despite a hard-fought battle at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, neither team found the back of the net through 99 minutes of play. Messi recorded four shots, including one on target.

After the match, Miami fans took to social media to express their disappointment in Inter Miami’s group stage performance.

Both teams earned one point in the tournament with the draw. 

After more than 45 minutes of play in the first half, both teams were knotted at 0-0, with neither able to find the back of the net.

Inter Miami took a pair of blows with back-to-back yellow cards issued to Federico Redondo and Tomás Avilés for hard fouls.

In the 43rd minute, a decisive penalty kick by Trézéguet nearly broke the tie with a low shot to the bottom left corner, but it was saved by Miami goalkeeper Óscar Ustari. Aside from the penalty attempt, both defenses held strong, keeping scoring chances limited heading into halftime.

The second half didn’t offer much more action, as Inter Miami picked up two additional yellow cards while Al Ahly was shown one.

Miami held 55.3 percent of possession and recorded 14 total shot attempts, including six on target, but committed 10 fouls and finished with four yellow cards.

Despite earning 10 corner kicks and creating several offensive opportunities, Inter Miami couldn’t get past Al Ahly goalkeeper Mohamed El Shenawy, who tallied five saves.

The Club World Cup is set to unfold across 12 venues in 11 U.S. cities, the expanded 2025 tournament will showcase many of the world’s top men’s club teams from June 14 to July 13. For the first time, 32 clubs will take part in the competition, adopting the same format as the FIFA World Cup.

The field will be split into eight groups of four, with each team playing three round-robin matches. The top two teams from each group will then move on to the knockout rounds.

Inter Miami will play FC Porto in Atlanta on Thursday at 3:00 p.m. ET.