No matter who the scoreline favored, FIFA likely won’t be pleased. This is the first edition of the Club World Cup featuring 32 teams — a major expansion that’s drawn plenty of criticism. Still, FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s enthusiasm was clear. And with Lionel Messi set to play in the opening match, there was certainly hope for a blockbuster start.
But the result of the opening game of this expanded tournament turned out to be underwhelming. At Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium, Inter Miami and Egypt’s Al Ahly played out a goalless draw — Inter Miami 0, Al Ahly 0. Despite the stalemate, Group A’s curtain-raiser still delivered in terms of intensity and back-and-forth action, and it ended with one Argentine stealing the spotlight as man of the match.
While no goals were scored, Al Ahly looked the more threatening side for much of the match. The Egyptian club earned a penalty late in the first half, but Trezeguet’s effort was saved by Inter Miami goalkeeper Oscar Ustari. The 38-year-old didn’t just stop the spot kick in the 43rd minute — he ended the game with eight saves in total.
Argentine fans would remember Ustari well. He was the goalkeeper for Argentina’s 2005 U-20 World Cup-winning team — the same tournament where Lionel Messi won his first major title. The two also went on to win Olympic gold together at the 2008 Beijing Games. Though Ustari later played in Spain for Getafe and Almería, he never quite established himself on the senior international stage, earning only two caps.
Most recently playing for Chilean side Audax Italiano, Ustari joined Inter Miami as a free agent last September.
On the other side, Al Ahly’s 36-year-old goalkeeper Mohamed El Shenawy also had a busy night, registering five saves — including a crucial one in the 96th minute, when he denied Luis Suárez. Just moments earlier, a shot from Messi had struck the crossbar.
Despite those late chances going begging, Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano sounded content with the outcome. Speaking to DAZN, he said, “I’m happy with the performance. We couldn’t control the game in the first half, but we played much better in the second.”
The draw makes it tougher for both Inter Miami and Al Ahly to qualify for the knockout stage, especially with Porto and Palmeiras — considered group favorites — still to play.
Inter Miami will next face Porto at 1 a.m. on June 19 (Bangladesh time), while Al Ahly take on Palmeiras the same day at 10 p.m.
