Messi loses points in Club World Cup opening match

The new Club World Cup journey started with a draw. Neither team was able to score in the opening match between Inter Miami and Al-Ahly.

The match was scheduled to start at 6 am Bangladesh time at the Hard Rock Stadium in Florida on Sunday (June 15), but there was a slight delay around the opening ceremony.

Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami dominated possession throughout the match but failed to score. With 56 percent possession, they took 9 shots, but only 4 were on target. In contrast, Egyptian club Al Ahly had 44 percent possession, but only 8 of their 11 shots were on target.

Al Ahly had a big chance to go ahead in the first half. They were unable to take the lead after winger Trezegate missed a penalty in the 43rd minute. Both teams attacked for the rest of the match, but the forwards of both teams failed to score by eluding the opposing defense.

In Group ‘A’, Inter Miami and Al Ahli are joined by Portuguese club FC Porto and Brazilian club Palmeiras.

Messi will play his second match in the group stage against Porto on June 19.

It is worth noting that 32 teams from 6 continents are participating in the tournament this time, divided into 8 groups with 4 teams in each group. The top two teams from each group will advance to the last 16 in a round-robin format. Although this tournament was previously held every year with the continental champions, it will not be held in the previous format from now on. This Club Football World Cup will be held on a much larger scale from now on.