What Inter Miami must do to save themselves from total CWC embarrassment

When Gianni Infantino triumphantly announced back in October 2024 that Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami side would grace his own personal vanity project - or the newly-revamped FIFA Club World Cup to give it the proper name - eyebrows were rightly raised.

If Infantino's wish was to have the Argentinian World Cup winner and his long-time rival, Cristiano Ronaldo, battling it out at some point this summer, that plan backfired spectacularly with the news that the Portuguese is highly unlikely to feature at the tournament.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino, second from right, front, speaks during a ceremony for Inter Miami winning the Supporters' ShieldČTK / AP / Lynne Sladky

In any event, one couldn't escape the feeling that Inter Miami didn't really deserve their place at the CWC, having only won the MLS Supporters' Shield, which is given to the club with the best regular season record.

Did Inter Miami deserve to go to the Club World Cup?

Messi and Co. were knocked out of the MLS Cup in Round One of the Playoffs, fell to Columbus Crew in the Round of 16 in the Leagues Cup and were defeated recently in the semi-finals of the CONCACAF Champions Cup - all trophies which, with respect, hold more value than the Supporters' Shield.

An announcement that they would also open the tournament against Al Ahly at the Hard Rock Stadium was similarly underwhelming to most football watchers, and even Messi himself had to chuckle at Infantino's shambolic attempt to drum up business in front of the home crowd.

Rightly or wrongly, David Beckham's outfit will be rubbing shoulders with some of the world's best football teams, though it's fair to say that they'd rather be in the form of a year ago.

Inter have blown hot and cold under Javier Mascherano

At present, this season under new coach Javier Mascherano, Inter have blown hot and cold.

From easing past Columbus Crew 5-1 to being humbled 4-1 by Minnesota United, their results have differed wildly across the current campaign.

Inter Miami's current formFlashscore

Indeed, they've not kept a clean sheet in the last 10 matches, and in eight of those, the opposition has scored at least two goals.

Were it not for Messi (21 goals, 11 assists) and Luis Suarez (21 goals, nine assists), the Herons might well be in dire straits.

Taylor Twellman isn't happy with the tactical set-up

MLS analyst Taylor Twellman was also scathing in his recent analysis of the way that Mascherano has set up his team.

"They give up chances to anyone and everyone, and Mascherano is so stubborn with the tactical setup, they don’t have a chance," he said. 

"If you start a game with Messi, Suarez and (Sergio) Busquets right down your spine, you’re immediately starting with three players that will not be that aggressive on the defensive side of things.

"The Club World Cup could be a real struggle for them, and it could blow up in their face, and then all of a sudden, that summer transfer window comes, they might have to really figure it out. 

"I just think Mascherano needs to change the way he’s looking at the tactical setup. It would make them a little bit better defensively."

Not enough defensive excellence

The knowledge that Suarez has only made three tackles all season backs up Twellman's assertion, with Messi's 20 significantly better but nowhere close to Diego Gomez's 55 tackles or Marcelo Weigandt's 62.

Defensively, there have been a number of instances that have shown up where Inter have to improve quickly, too.

In terms of interceptions, Tomas Aviles leads the way with 42, Yannick Bright has 34, and a not unexpected 32 have been managed by Busquets.

Possession being won in the middle third of the pitch that 'Busi' inhabits appears to be a big part of Inter's game at present, and it's no real surprise that his 75.8% pass completion rate is one of the best in the squad. 

That's impressive enough without adding that he's played by far the most passes (2,215) of anyone. His importance therefore, can't be understated.

Jordi Alba's relentless running could leave Inter Miami exposed

Jordi Alba's 1,894 passes is almost double Messi's 989, though the Spaniard's excellence in that respect could do with being curtailed in preference to a prowess in defence that would help to stop his side conceding so many goals (27 to date in 16 MLS matches, the joint worst of the top eight teams in the Eastern Conference).

Against the likes of Porto and Palmeiras (with respect to Al Ahly), Inter Miami are likely to be completely exposed, to the point of being totally embarrassed.

Of course, the thought of that should be enough to encourage the tactical shift that Twellman speaks of, with Alba being used more as a wing-back than an out-and-out left winger.

It's clear that by having the former Barcelona man in midfield that he's leaving his left-back, 21-year-old Noah Allen, completely exposed.

Jordi Alba radar graphic for 2024/25Opta by StatsPerform

That doesn't appear to be Mascherano's only issue at the moment either, and yet, if they're able to win their league game in hand, they would be just two points behind Eastern Conference leaders, Philadelphia Union.

As far as the Club World Cup is concerned, however, clearly it's good for Infantino and for FIFA business if Messi remains in the competition for as long as possible, but for any number of reasons, that's likely to be nothing more than a pipe dream.

Jason PettigroveFlashscore

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