Soccer-Botafogo and Inter Miami end European dominance at Club World Cup

PHILADELPHIA -Thirteen years of European dominance in intercontinental club football came to an end on Thursday as U.S. side Inter Miami defeated Porto 2-1 and Brazilians Botafogo beat Champions League winners Paris St Germain 1-0 at the revamped Club World Cup.
Lionel Messi's stunning free kick secured victory for Inter Miami after they came back from a goal down against the Portuguese side, while South American champions Botafogo delivered a disciplined display to outmanoeuvre PSG.
The results marked a seismic shift in a competition historically dominated by European sides, with the last non-European victory coming in 2012 when Brazil's Corinthians defeated Chelsea in the Club World Cup final.
Botafogo's triumph was particularly striking.
The Brazilian champions entered the tournament with ample preparation time, arriving in the United States weeks in advance and conducting an intensive training camp in Los Angeles.
This stood in stark contrast to their gruelling schedule in December, when they had to play the final round of the Brazilian league before travelling to Qatar at the Intercontinental Cup with less than 72 hours to recover.
Against PSG, Botafogo delivered a tactical masterclass.
Their compact defensive formation frustrated the French champions, who enjoyed the lion's share of possession but struggled to create clear-cut chances.
"The football graveyard is full of so-called favourites," said Botafogo's Portuguese coach Renato Paiva.
His side's discipline and composure were evident throughout as they nullified PSG's attacking threats and capitalised on a rare opportunity to secure the win, netting the winner in a quick counter led by forward Igor Jesus in the first half.
Earlier in the day, Inter Miami showcased resilience against Porto.
After falling behind they rallied through Messi's brilliance, with the Argentinian forward curling a sensational free kick into the top corner to seal the comeback.
Despite Porto enduring one of their poorest seasons in years, the victory was a significant statement by the MLS side on the global stage.
The results appear to underline a shift in the competitive balance at the Club World Cup, with non-European teams benefiting from improved preparation and better scheduling.
Brazil's Flamengo and Argentina's Boca Juniors will get the next chance to inflict defeats on European opposition on Friday when they face Chelsea and Bayern Munich.
A victory for either of the South American clubs would further weaken Europe's grip on the tournament and show other teams from around the world they have nothing to fear from UEFA's elite.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Indian Express

15 minutes ago

• Indian Express

‘I took advantage of goalkeeper's mistake': Messi explains brilliant free-kick winner for Inter Miami against Porto

Lionel Messi starred with a free kick as Inter Miami beat Porto 2-1 in their FIFA Club World Cup match at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Thursday (Friday morning in India) to stay second in the Group A standings. Messi scored a 54th-minute free kick to give Inter Miami a 2-1 lead before Porto opened the scoring in the eighth minute. Samu Aghehowa scored a penalty, but Telasco Segovia scored in the 47th minute for the equaliser for Inter Miami. Inter Miami captain Messi said he is happy with the win but rues the goalless draw against Al Ahly. 'It's a great joy. A lot of effort went into it, and we worked very well. I'm very happy. We were left with a bitter taste after the first match. We thought we could have won it,' he said after the match. The Argentine maestro found the top corner with a second-half set-piece to clinch a victory for the MLS side and give it a strong chance of progressing from Group A. Inter Miami and Palmeiras have four points each after the Brazilian side beat Al Ahly 2-0 earlier on — the Egyptians, like Porto, have one point. Explaining the thought behind his kick, which gave Miami the decisive lead, Messi said, '(In the free kick) I took advantage of the space left by the goalkeeper, who was standing still and not covering his post. I tried to score there.' Messi believes the change in mindset of Inter Miami players worked in this game, but accepts their last group game against Palmeiras will be difficult. 'The other day (there were) nerves from a lot of young guys playing in such a significant competition. We've changed. We're going to compete, try to play our game. Today we were the inferior team, but we have our weapons. Next up is Palmeiras, which is a big club in the world. It's going to be another very difficult game.'

The Hindu

35 minutes ago

• The Hindu

FIH Pro League 2025: Winless Indian men's and women's teams seek positive results after string of losses

Their dream of booking a direct ticket to next year's World Cup crushed after six consecutive losses in the European leg of Pro league, India is now hoping to conclude its campaign on a positive note with wins in its last two matches against Belgium. The Indian men's hockey team will take on world No. 3 Belgium in consecutive matches here on Saturday and Sunday. After a good outing in the home leg earlier this year, the Indian men entered the European leg with high hopes, but had a horrendous outing instead. The losses meant India slipped from third to the eighth and penultimate position in the nine-team standings. The winner of the Pro League will automatically qualify for the World Cup, which will be jointly hosted by Belgium and Netherlands. Against Netherlands, India lost 1-2 and 2-3, followed by defeats against Argentina (2-3, 1-2) and Australia (2-3, 2-3). It was not that India played badly throughout the European leg, but what cost it dearly was its perennial habit of conceding late goals. The Indian defence crumbled under pressure at late stages, evidence of which was its opponents scoring most of their winners in the last 13 minutes of the match. India's senior players committed elementary mistakes when put under pressure. Harmanpreet Singh has stood tall in defence but the likes of Amit Rohidas and Sumit need to buckle up to support young goalkeeper Krishan Bahadur Pathak and Suraj Karkera. The Indian forward line too needs to convert the chances that come its way. Cheif coach Craig Fulton would also be worried about the team's penalty corner conversion rate, although Harmanpreet scored a few. Women's team also struggling The Indian women's team has suffered four consecutive losses so far in London. It lost 2-3 and 1-2 against Australia, and went down 1-4 and 2-0 to Argentina. However, under chief coach Harendra Singh, the women played fast-paced attacking hockey with sharp passes. But they were found wanting in penalty corner conversions. The women too will play Belgium in back-to-back matches on Saturday and Sunday, and will look for their first win in the European leg. The team is currently placed seventh in the nine-team standings and will end its campaign with consecutive matches against China in Berlin on June 28 and 29.

Indian Express

an hour ago

• Indian Express

‘We're not friends': Lionel Messi on how relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo is based on mutual respect

Argentine superstar Lionel Messi said that while he had a tremendous amount of respect for eternal rival Cristiano Ronaldo, the two superstars were not exactly friends. Messi said that this was not due to some kind of personal animosity but was down to the simple fact that the two superstars don't spend time together with their paths rarely crossing. 'I have a lot of respect and admiration for Cristiano Ronaldo and for the career he's had and continues to have, because he's still competing at the highest level,' Messi told DSports. 'The competition with him was on the pitch. Each of us wanted to do the best for our team. Obviously, as always, everything stayed on the field. Off the pitch, we are two normal people. We're not friends obviously because we don't spend time together, but we've always treated each other with a lot of respect,' he added. A few weeks ago, Ronaldo had also said that he had nothing but respect for Messi. 'I have affection for Messi, although we have been rivals for many years. As I have said in several interviews, we were on stage for 15 years. I translated for him at the galas. I have affection for him because he always respected me a lot,' Ronaldo had said ahead of Portugal's game against Spain in the Nations League final. On Friday, Messi's stunning free kick secured Inter Miami a 2-1 win over Porto in their Club World Cup Group A clash, marking the first time a CONCACAF team has defeated a European side in an official FIFA tournament. The Argentine great was pivotal as the Major League Soccer side bounced back from their disappointing goalless draw against Egyptian side Al Ahly in their opening match. Inter Miami's win over Porto boosts their chances of a deep run in a tournament designed to pit champion clubs from across the globe against one another. The competition is taking place in 12 stadiums across the United States.