Miami's unbeaten run sets up CWC clash with PSG

Inter Miami drew 2-2 against Palmeiras to suffice for the 2025 Club World Cup circular of 16, emerging from Group A successful 2nd spot with an unbeaten record.

Lionel Messi's squad is the sole MLS typical to beforehand to the knockout phase, wherever they are acceptable to look European champions Paris Saint-Germain, the nine wherever the Argentina prima spent 2 seasons (2021-2023).

Miami left-back Jordi Alba labeled PSG the "current champion successful the full world."

"I'm arrogant of the squad and present we're competing against a apical squad similar PSG. It's great, for maine they're playing the champion shot successful Europe, and well, it's evidently a precise hard match, but we're going to effort to compete," said Alba aft the match.

"Why not imagination of beating the European champion? It volition beryllium precise difficult. We cognize the prime of each the players, and for me, Luis Enrique is the champion manager successful the world. I cognize him precise well.

"This is football, and it's 90-something minutes, and well, wherefore not dream?... They're [PSG] the ones who play the champion shot today. They're precise versatile, with precise bully wide players, and guys successful midfield who person the ball. Overall, they're the astir implicit squad for me. We'll spot however acold we tin spell and effort to compete."

Miami established the aboriginal pb implicit Palmeiras successful the archetypal fractional with a extremity from Tadeo Allende earlier Luis Suárez doubled the people successful the 65th minute. The Major League Soccer broadside astir clinched archetypal spot successful Group A, but yet fto successful 2 goals successful the last minutes of the lucifer to reason with a draw.

The triumph would've seen Inter Miami look Botafogo successful the knockout circular of the contention alternatively of PSG.

"We had it each there. For a moment, we already saw ourselves playing against Botafogo, but shot is similar this: you suffer absorption for 15 seconds, 30 seconds, and you wage dearly for it," said Suarez.

"We cognize it's going to beryllium precise difficult, precise complicated, but we person the tools we request to compete."

Messi volition present look his erstwhile squad for the archetypal clip since departing PSG successful 2023 to articulation Inter Miami, portion helium alongside Suarez, Alba and Sergio Busquets reunite with manager Luis Enrique aft playing nether the Spaniard astatine FC Barcelona.

"But for me, he's the best," said Alba

"I deliberation not lone arsenic a manager but besides arsenic a squad manager. For me, they're phenomenal. I'm besides looking guardant to seeing Rafel Pol, Joaquín Valdés, each their staff, and the players who play with them astatine Barcelona, and sharing them well. It's 90 minutes, and well, I deliberation we should beryllium arrogant of however we've competed successful these 3 games. Now, let's vie against PSG."

The Miami-PSG lucifer volition beryllium played connected Sunday, Jun. 29 astatine the Mercedes-Benz Stadium successful Atlanta, Georgia.