Inter Miami midfielder Benjamin Cremaschi has credited Lionel Messi’s advice with an improved performance by the MLS side during the second half of their 0-0 draw with Al Ahly in the opening game of the 2025 Fifa Club World Cup.
Goalkeeper Oscar Ustari rescued Miami during the first half at the Hard Rock Stadium, stopping Trezeguet’s 43rd-minute penalty among five saves to thwart the Egyptian team.
“He told us to have long possessions with the ball, as the midfield was open,” Cremaschi said of Messi’s advice, via Fifa.
“He told us to focus on just keeping the ball… opportunities are going to fall. That’s what we did and we had a better second half,” Cremaschi added.
Key moments 🔑 🧤from @OscarUstari
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📰 Table Of Contents
- 1 Al Ahly vs Inter Miami: Goalkeepers star
- 2 Inter Miami ‘very nervous’ – Mascherano
- 3 2025 Club World Cup: Al Ahly fans ‘amazing’
- 4 Riveiro: Al Ahly have ‘plenty of positives’
- 5 Watch Messi at the Club World Cup: Live stream, TV channel in UK
- 6 Club World Cup 2025: Which Messi Miami games are on Channel 5?
- 7 Inter Miami Club World Cup knockout stage path
- 8 Inter Miami Club World Cup squad
Al Ahly vs Inter Miami: Goalkeepers star
Despite relying on a touch of fortune, Miami kept their first clean sheet in 11 games and went closest to scoring when Messi hit the side netting with a second-half free-kick before having an effort turned against the crossbar by Mohamed El Shenawy.
“In the first half, we did what we needed to and were the better side,” said the Egypt goalkeeper, calling Miami “a great side”.
“But we dropped off a bit in the second half because we knew they’d come out strongly after the break. The humidity got to us a bit, too – but at least we got a draw in the end.”
Inter Miami ‘very nervous’ – Mascherano
Miami manager Javier Mascherano described his team’s first-half display as “very nervous and anxious”. “That’s normal, given the context, the atmosphere,” said the former Argentina midfielder.
“We improved a lot. We understood that we had to be more patient when moving the ball from one side to the other.
“We played in the opposition half, created a lot of chances, and the truth is that we leave with the feeling that we could have won.”
Cremaschi said Miami showed during the second half that they “could be a part of this tournament”. “It’s complicated to say after one game, but we’re happy with how we played,” added the Florida-born 20-year-old.
A match full of beautiful saves 👏
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— DAZN Football (@DAZNFootball) June 15, 2025
2025 Club World Cup: Al Ahly fans ‘amazing’
Palestinian striker Wessam Abou Ali, who had a 30th-minute goal ruled out for offside, said he was “really disappointed” not to have won.
“With all due respect to Inter Miami, who have a lot of great players, we could have scored three or four goals in the first half,” he added. Unfortunately, we didn’t take our chances.
“Our fans were amazing. This is a really big club and with such a large number of fans here to support Al-Ahly, that really gave us a boost.”
Riveiro: Al Ahly have ‘plenty of positives’
Spaniard Jose Riveiro took charge of his first competitive Al-Ahly match. “We made some mistakes and missed some good chances today,” rued the former Orlando Pirates manager.
“If we’d been able to score some of them, the game would have been totally different. We were in control in the first half, but our performance dipped a bit in the second, when we had some issues in transition and misplaced a few passes.
“However, there are plenty of positives to take, as well as a few areas we know we can improve… obviously, it’s very different to playing in Egypt.”
Al-Ahly continue their Group A campaign against Palmeiras in New Jersey on Thursday (17:00 BST), while Miami face Porto in Atlanta at 20:00 that evening.
REF CAM 🎥
Mohamed El-Shenawy’s big save 👀
Watch the @FIFACWC | June 14 – July 13 | Every Game | Free | https://t.co/i0K4eUtwwb | #FIFACWC #TakeItToTheWorld pic.twitter.com/IDbLlhedKL
— DAZN Football (@DAZNFootball) June 15, 2025
Watch Messi at the Club World Cup: Live stream, TV channel in UK
Live coverage of 40 of the matches is on DAZN, with 23 on Channel 5. DAZN Subscribers or Freemium member can tune in as part of their existing membership, while non-subscribers can register for a free account to start watching.
Fans can watch on the go via the DAZN App on smart TVs, phones, tablets, games consoles and streaming devices.
Club World Cup 2025: Which Messi Miami games are on Channel 5?
Channel 5 will also be showing games for free. John Obi Mikel, Sami Khedira, Ronaldo, Christian Vieri, Shay Given, Callum Wilson, Andros Townsend, Ade Oladipo, Kelly Somers and Fabrizio Romano are among the pundits and presenters.
The co-commentators are Andros Townsend, Michael Brown, Brad Friedel, Rob Green, Danny Higginbotham, Don Hutchison, Jonas Olsson and Anita Asante.
A highlights and analysis show, The Press, will be presented by James Alcott and Julien Laurens and analyse each day’s games on 5’s streaming service.
Here’s the full list of potential games featuring Lionel Messi and Inter Miami being shown on 5.
June 29
Two round of 16 ties
June 30
Two round of 16 ties
July 4
One quarter-final tie
July 5
One quarter-final tie
July 9
One semi-final tie
July 13
Final
Inter Miami Club World Cup knockout stage path
Miami will be eliminated if they finish outside of the top two in their group. Otherwise, they will advance to a last-16 match against a team from Group B, which contains Seattle, PSG, Atletico Madrid and Botafogo.
That game will take place on Saturday, June 28 in Philadelphia at 17:00 if they win their group or on Sunday, June 29 in Atlanta at 17:00 if they are runners-up.
Should they reach the quarter-finals, Miami will face a team from Group C – Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors or Benfica – or Group D, which features Flamengo, Esperance, Chelsea and Los Angeles.
That game will take place in Philadelphia on Friday, July 5 at 02:00 if they are group winners or Atlanta at 17:00 on the same day if they finish second.
Their semi-final will be in New Jersey, taking place at 20:00 on Tuesday, July 8 if they are group winners or at the same time on Wednesday, July 9 if they are runners-up.
The final is also in New Jersey at 20:00 on Sunday, July 13.
Inter Miami Club World Cup squad
Goalkeepers: Drake Callender, Rocco Rios Novo, Oscar Ustari, William Yarbrough
Defenders: Jordi Alba, Noah Allen, Tomas Aviles, Israel Boatwright, Maximiliano Falcon, Ian Fray, Gonzalo Lujan, Tyler Hall, David Martinez, Ryan Sailor, Marcelo Weigandt
Midfielders: Yannick Bright, Sergio Busquets, Benjamin Cremaschi, Santiago Morales, Federico Redondo, Baltasar Rodriguez, David Ruiz, Telasco Segovia
Forwards: Leo Afonso, Tadeo Allende, Lionel Messi, Allen Obando, Fafa Picault, Luis Suarez
