Five key takeaways as Messi’s Inter Miami draws with Al Ahly in CWC opener

After a long wait, the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup kicked off this Saturday in the United States. Despite playing at Hard Rock Stadium, Inter Miami was technically the visiting team against Al Ahly, in an exciting opening encounter that ended in a goalless draw. Lionel Messi’s Herons and the Egyptian giants shared the points in the first Group A match.

Although not the ideal result for Javier Mascherano’s team, this draw leaves Miami firmly in the hunt to reach the next round, ahead of their remaining group games against Porto and Palmeiras. However, these matches are expected to be more challenging due to the level of the Portuguese and Brazilian teams. Here are the key moments from the clash between the North Americans and Africans.

Ashour injury a blow to Al Ahly

Before the first 15 minutes had been played, Emam Ashour had to leave the field, a painful loss for Al Ahly. The 27-year-old Egyptian attacking midfielder had a season full of impressive stats, driving the African Red Devils forward, but in the opening match of the Club World Cup, he had to be substituted due to issues with his left shoulder.

Avilés escaped a red card

Tomás Avilés, Inter Miami’s young Argentine central defender, narrowly avoided seeing a red card after the referee forgave him a second yellow in the final stretch of the first half. The Racing Club product has had many disciplinary issues in MLS, and in the Club World Cup, he was close to leaving the Herons with 10 players.

Ustari put on a show

Óscar Ustari, the experienced Argentine goalkeeper for Javier Mascherano’s team, put in a spectacular performance in the first half to keep the score at 0-0. Ustari’s first major intervention was to keep out a powerful header from Achraf Dari - and the second was a penalty saved from Mahmoud Trézéguet, diving to his right and stopping the shot in a timely manner.

Messi got Miami going

In the second half, Messi raised his level and inspired all his teammates. The captain demonstrated his quality once again, and although he didn’t score, he made it clear that despite his age, he still has a lot of soccer left in him.

The fans were fully engaged, and Messi came close to scoring on a couple of occasions. He finished the match with two shots on target, two shots off target, two shots against the woodwork, one clear chance created, and three fouls received (stats per SofaScore).

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