Messi, Inter Miami tie Al Ahly 0-0 in Club World Cup opener in front of 60,927 fans

A sea of red descended on Hard Rock Stadium Saturday night for the highly anticipated Club World Cup opening match, as fans of Egyptian power Al Ahly traveled long distances to see their beloved Red Devils face Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami teammates.

Although the game was being played 21 miles south of Inter Miami’s home stadium, the crowd of 60,927 looked evenly divided and the Red Devils fans were much louder during the dramatic match, which ended in a 0-0 tie.

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Al Ahly has 12 million Instagram followers and 30 of the 200 credentialed reporters were from Egyptian outlets. Every time the Red Devils got near the Miami goal, their fans went wild.

The Egyptian team dominated the first half, slicing through Miami’s defense on counterattacks, but Inter Miami goalkeeper Oscar Ustari, who turns 39 in a few weeks, made save after save to keep the game scoreless at the break.

His most spectacular save came in the 43rd minute, when he blocked a Trezeguet penalty kick from 12 yards out. Telasco Segovia committed the foul in the box, holding the mid-section of a Red Devils player. Al Ahly had six shots on goal in the first half, and Ustari saved every one of them.

“Oscar kept us alive in the first half, not just on the penalty kick but two or three other great saves,” Miami coach Javier Mascherano said.

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Ustari was named Man of the Match, and said of his performance: “I just worked hard and luckily I was able to help the team, which is what’s important. Over 90-plus minutes that they were unable to score, that is what matters more than any individual.”

Asked what still motivates him after a career over two decades, the Argentine keeper said: “I am passionate about this sport, love this sport, and it will be that way until the last day I play. The day I lose that passion is the day I will have to leave the game.”

Miami, meanwhile, had just one shot on goal and didn’t threaten for most of the first half.

Messi went down at the 35 minute mark, and it appeared he had injured his right knee. The stadium went silent as he grimaced and was surrounded by his teammates. But he got up and continued playing. He and Luis Suarez were relatively quiet through the first half.

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“The first half we were very nervous and anxious, which is normal considering the context of this game,” Mascherano said. “We lost balls in areas we should not have, and that allowed them to counterattack, and the majority of their scoring chances were on the counter.”

Mascherano made one change at halftime, bringing in Marcelo Weigandt for Aviles, who was on a yellow card. Ian Fray shifted from right back to center back and Weigandt played on the right.

Miami came out strong to start the second half, with players linking up in the final third much better than they had earlier in the night. Tadeo Allende came close to scoring in the 51st minute, but his close-range shot was stopped by Al Ahly goalkeeper Mohamed El Shenawy.

Ten minutes later, Messi came inches from putting Miami on the scoreboard. He unleashed a left-footed free kick and it skimmed the outside of the net. The shot was so good that fans across the stadium thought it went in.

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“The second half we played much better, we understood we had to have more patience to move the ball from side to side, the players did a great job, created lots of scoring chances and the truth is we leave with the feeling that we could have won it in the second half,” Mascherano said. “We finished well and going forward we have to do what we did in the second half, not have any fear, shed whatever baggage we had because when we play like that, we can play even with any team.”

The score remained 0-0 after 72 minutes, and Mascherano made his second substitution. Segovia came out and Key Biscayne’s Benja Cremaschi went in, joining fellow Inter Miami academy products Noah Allen and Ian Fray on the field.

Miami players continued to attack with purpose, as the momentum shifted in their direction. Fafa Picault came off the bench in the 80th minute, replacing Allende, and nearly scored on a bouncing header off a cross from Messi.

Hungry to get a statement win against a team that was heavily favored, Inter Miami kept battling into extra time. Messi took a left-footed shot that was saved by El Shenawy and Maxi Falcon made a last-ditch effort in the closing minutes, but his header from close range was saved.

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Spanish coach Jose Riveiro, who was hired last month, made his Al Ahly debut Saturday. Like Mascherano, he said his team seemed nervous on the opening night, but credited El Shenawy for key saves and praised Ustari, as well.

“Good performances from both [goalkeepers], they both managed to showcase their talent as experienced goalkeepers,” Riveiro said.

As for his evaluation of the game overall, Riveiro said his team was able to keep Miami far from the Al Ahly goal in the first half, forcing Messi to receive the ball far from where he likes to play, and “fully controlling Sergio Busquets in the buildup” through most of the match.

Michael and Sherina Zekri, natives of Egypt who moved the United States seven years ago, flew to Miami from Peoria, Arizona, with a group of 11 friends and relatives for the game. They are Messi fans but were rooting for Al Ahly. Other fans wore scarves that were half Inter Miami and half Al Ahly.

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“I am just hoping for a good game,” Michael Zekri said. “As soon as we heard Al Ahly would be playing here, we bought tickets. This is a special chance for us as Egyptians to see our team. But we like Messi, too.”

The Red Devils fans roared when their starting lineup was announced: El Shenawy; Yasser, Dari, Hany; Ben Romdhane, Hamdy, Marawan, Trezeguet, Koka; Wessam.

Inter Miami’s Starting XI included: Ustari; center back Aviles, right back Fray, left back Allen, center back Falcon; midfielder Sergio Busquets, midfielder Segovia, midfielder Fede Redondo; winger Allende; forward Suarez; and Messi, the captain.

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Jordi Alba, Gonzalo Lujan and Yannick Bright sat out with injuries.

Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham, fresh off his knighthood in England, got a loud ovation when he was shown on the jumbo screen.

Despite a roster that includes the Argentine eight-time Ballon d’ Or winner, Inter Miami entered the tournament as the underdog in Group A, which includes Al Ahly, 30-time Portuguese champion Porto and Palmeiras of Brazil, a perennial regional champion that features Chelsea-bound teen phenom Estavao. The top two teams in each group advance to the Round of 16.

Al Ahly is the highest-ranked African team in the world, a team that won that region’s Champions League three of the past four years and has racked up 155 trophies over its 118-year history.

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There was pressure on Messi and Inter Miami to prove that an MLS team can compete with some of the most storied clubs in the world. With a tie, they proved they belonged on the field. Their next game is Thursday against Porto in Atlanta, and they then return to Hard Rock Stadium June 23 for the third group game against Palmeiras.

Security was extremely tight for the match, which was to be expected after the dangerous gate-crashing debacle at the Copa America final between Colombia and Argentina at Hard Rock Stadium last summer.

This time, there was a double-ringed perimeter around the stadium grounds. Fans without tickets who arrived at the first checkpoint by foot or car were turned away. Once inside the first ring, fans then had to go through a second security checkpoint at the stadium gates.

The game was broadcast on TBS and livestreamed on DAZN.com