João Neves scored a pair of objectives for Paris Saint-Germain and the world’s finest group overwhelmed one of many sport’s best gamers, embarrassing Lionel Messi and Inter Miami 4-0 in the spherical of 16 on the Club World Cup on Sunday (June 29, 2025).
With Messi dealing with the group the place he spent two seasons earlier than shifting to Major League Soccer in the twilight of his stellar profession, the European champions shortly erased the Herons’ hopes of pulling off a monumental upset earlier than a crowd of 65,574 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Neves scored his first aim simply six minutes into the match, changing a header on the again publish off a free kick. The Portuguese midfielder added one other in the thirty ninth minute earlier than Inter Miami completely fell aside in the closing levels of the primary half, surrendering an own-goal after which watching helplessly as Achraf Hakimi tacked on one other in stoppage time to ship PSG to the locker room with a four-goal cushion.
It was paying homage to PSG’s historic 5-0 rout of Inter Milan a month in the past in the Champions League last, when the Paris membership received its first European title and established itself as the clear favourite heading into the expanded Club World Cup.
The pink-clad followers tried to stir No. 10 with occasional chants of “Messi! Messi! Messi!” however it did little good. The Argentine star spent a lot of the first half simply lingering in the midfield, surrounded by PSG gamers and barely getting an opportunity to the touch the ball.
Paris Saint-Germain’s Joao Neves scores his facet’s second aim towards Inter Miami in the Club World Cup 2025 match in Atlanta on June 29, 2025.
| Photo Credit:
AP
Inter Miami’s finest likelihood got here early in the second half. A go to Luis Suárez despatched him clear along with the online, however the ball slid harmlessly off his foot and not using a shot. The 38-year-old striker kicked a water bottle over the barrier in frustration, summing up the day for the Herons.
Messi lastly linked with Inter Miami’s first shot on aim in the 63rd minute, however it was simply scooped up by goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. Messi had one other likelihood on a header with about 10 minutes remaining, forcing Donnarumma to make a diving save in the one actual menace to his third shutout of the event.
PSG superior to a quarterfinal match subsequent Saturday (July 5, 2025), additionally in Atlanta, towards Bayern Munich. The German membership defeated Flamengo of Brazil 4-2.
Key second
The European powerhouses got here into this event exhibiting little enthusiasm for the added workload on the finish of a grueling season. But, proper from the opening kick, PSG performed like a group that seems intent on capping its already good marketing campaign with a Club World Cup title.
Takeaways
Even with growing old worldwide stars such as Messi and Suarez, the MLS membership wasn’t in the identical league with the European champs.
Facing fierce stress from PSG, Inter Miami struggled merely to get the ball out of its personal half.
PSG held 73% possession in the primary half and outshot the Herons 10-0, together with six makes an attempt on aim.
Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi controls the ball previous Paris Saint-Germain’s Warren Zaire-Emery.
| Photo Credit:
AP
They stated it
“We had a very good game. We didn’t stop. We kept playing our game. It was a positive day for us.” — Neves.
“The first half was kind of like a bloodbath. … But I am very proud of my team and what we have accomplished.” — Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano by an interpreter. (AP) AM AM AM
