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The National
3 hours ago
- Sport
- The National
Club World Cup: Lionel Messi leads Inter Miami to historic win over Porto
Lionel Messi led the way once again as his stunning free kick secured Inter Miami a 2-1 win over Porto in their Club World Cup Group A clash on Thursday. It was the first time a CONCACAF team had defeated a European side in an official Fifa tournament. The Argentine great proved decisive as the Major-league Soccer side bounced back from their disappointing goalless draw against Egyptian side Al Ahly in their opening match. Samu Omorodion converted a penalty in the opening minutes after a video review for the Portuguese club's first goal of the tournament. Telasco Segovia then drew parity two minutes into the second half off a cross into the box from Marcelo Weigandt. Then it was time for the 37-year-old Argentine to shine with a trademark goal – finding the top corner with a second half set-piece. 'It's a huge joy, the whole team made a big effort, we worked really well,' Messi told DAZN. 'It's a really important win for us and we have to enjoy it. You can see that we want to compete, and today we competed against a really good European team. We knew that today we were weaker, but we had our strengths.' Messi was the game's outstanding player, involved heavily from the off. The former Barcelona great clipped a dipping ball in behind for veteran striker Luis Suarez, who could only prod it at the goalkeeper. Porto took the lead in the eighth minute after being awarded a soft penalty after a VAR review, as Miami defender Noah Allen made light contact with Joao Mario in the box. Spain international Aghehowa beat Oscar Ustari, who had saved a penalty in the goalless draw against Al Ahly, even though the stopper got a hand to his low effort. Uruguayan striker Suarez, 38, might have levelled after Messi threaded him through on goal but, forced to use his weaker left foot, Porto goalkeeper Claudio Ramos denied him. Javier Mascherano's side almost levelled through US international Benjamin Cremaschi after a charge from Suarez broke open Porto's defence, but Ramos made a smart stop to thwart him. Maximiliano Falcon brilliantly headed off his own goal-line with Ustari beaten by Rodrigo Mora's effort to keep Inter Miami hopes alive. Ustari denied Aghehowa and then scrambled the ball to safety as it rolled towards his net after Alan Varela crashed a shot off the upright and it hit him on the back, as Porto turned up the heat before the break. Miami levelled right at the start of the second half, with Segovia blasting home Weigandt's inviting cutback to stun the Portuguese side. Messi then sent Miami ahead with a goal all of his own making after 54 minutes. ' (Messi) is a leader, he's the player he is, he's the greatest player in the world,' Miami forward Fafa Picault said. 'I had a feeling (the free-kick) was going in. That was a great goal, a great show of leadership and coming in a clutch moment for us.'
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Lionel Messi scores on free kick to give Inter Miami 2-1 win over Porto in Club World Cup
Inter Miami's Benjamin Cremaschi, left, and Lionel Messi celebrate after a goal during the Club World Cup group A soccer match between Inter Miami and FC Porto in Atlanta, Thursday, June 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart) Inter Miami's Lionel Messi reacts after scoring during the Club World Cup group A soccer match between Inter Miami and FC Porto in Atlanta, Thursday, June 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart) Inter Miami's Lionel Messi, second left, celebrates with Luis Suarez after scoring his side's second goal during the Club World Cup group A soccer match between Inter Miami and FC Porto in Atlanta, Thursday, June 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson) Inter Miami's Lionel Messi, center, celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the Club World Cup group A soccer match between Inter Miami and FC Porto in Atlanta, Thursday, June 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson) Inter Miami's Lionel Messi scores his side's second goal during the Club World Cup group A soccer match between Inter Miami and FC Porto in Atlanta, Thursday, June 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson) Inter Miami's Lionel Messi scores his side's second goal during the Club World Cup group A soccer match between Inter Miami and FC Porto in Atlanta, Thursday, June 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson) Inter Miami's Benjamin Cremaschi, left, and Lionel Messi celebrate after a goal during the Club World Cup group A soccer match between Inter Miami and FC Porto in Atlanta, Thursday, June 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart) Inter Miami's Lionel Messi reacts after scoring during the Club World Cup group A soccer match between Inter Miami and FC Porto in Atlanta, Thursday, June 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart) Inter Miami's Lionel Messi, second left, celebrates with Luis Suarez after scoring his side's second goal during the Club World Cup group A soccer match between Inter Miami and FC Porto in Atlanta, Thursday, June 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson) Inter Miami's Lionel Messi, center, celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the Club World Cup group A soccer match between Inter Miami and FC Porto in Atlanta, Thursday, June 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson) Inter Miami's Lionel Messi scores his side's second goal during the Club World Cup group A soccer match between Inter Miami and FC Porto in Atlanta, Thursday, June 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson) ATLANTA (AP) — Lionel Messi scored his first goal of the expanded Club World Cup on an exquisite free kick, lifting Inter Miami to a 2-1 victory over two-time European champion Porto on Thursday. The Herons trailed 1-0 at the break, but Telasco Segovia tied it two minutes into the second half off a cross into the box from Marcelo Weigandt. Advertisement Then it was time for the 37-year-old Argentinian to add a trademark goal to a resume that already assures he'll go down as one of the game's greatest stars. Samu Omorodion scored on a penalty kick in the opening minutes after a video review for the Portuguese club's first goal of the tournament. Both teams were held to scoreless draws in their opening Group A matches. Key moment Messi was taken down just outside the penalty area by Rodrigo Mora on a run down the middle of the field. The crowd at Mercedes-Benz Stadium was chanting 'Messi!' Messi! Messi!' before his left-footed blast cleared the Porto wall and ripped the net in the top right corner in the 54th minute. Advertisement Takeaways Inter Miami returns to South Florida on Monday, knowing a victory over Brazilian club Palmeiras at Hard Rock Stadium will lock up its spot in the Round of 16. In desperate need of a win, Porto closes out group play against Egypt's Al Ahly at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. ___ AP soccer:
Forbes
11 hours ago
- Sport
- Forbes
Magical Lionel Messi Earns Shock Inter Miami Win
Inter Miami has defeated FC Porto 2-1 at the FIFA 2025 Club World Cup. It's a shock result that puts Lionel Messi's MLS side second in Group A. The moment that Inter Miami was waiting for. The moment that Lionel Messi was waiting for. The moment that Gianni Infantino was waiting for. A simply stunning free-kick from Messi to put the MLS side 2-1 up against FC Porto. Finally some real stardust has been sprinkled over this tournament. Trademark Messi from the edge of the box. The Argentina legend stepped up and rasped the ball into the top corner. The free-kick position was so central that Messi might have gone either way, the goalkeeper dared not guess but then he was beaten on his own side. He didn't even see it coming. It was a genius strike from the number 10. Impeccable execution, hit with purpose, this was vintage Lionel and he has finally left his mark on this tournament. A shock result from the Mercedes-Benz stadium in Atlanta, and a historic one for the MLS. When Lionel Messi put Luis Suárez through on goal in the first half it was still 1-0 to Porto, and Suárez squandered the opportunity. He looked a million miles off the player he used to be. The Uruguayan was well off the pace and that summed up Miami's championship until that point. Miraculously, that all changed in the second period. Inter Miami were 2-1 up in the 54th minute and held onto that result to leapfrog the Portuguese side in the group. The first shock victory of the tournament has been produced by David Beckham's veteran stars. The result also means that Brazilian side Palmeiras will confirm top of the group by drawing their final game with Inter Miami. Plameiras defeated Al Ahly earlier on Thursday. This would be fantastic news for South American football after an already brilliant start to the tournament for the CONMEBOL teams. In the final round of games, Inter Miami will face off with Palmeiras of Brazil, and Porto will take on Al Ahly. It's still all to play for. A heavy victory or defeat for each team could leave them in or out of the tournament on match day three of the group stage. Inter Miami looked down and out in this tournament. The team didn't show up in their opener against Al Ahly and they didn't start strong against Porto either. Miami was 1-0 down after just eight minutes and it's fair to say that everyone would have written off the South Florida side from group progression at that point. Now the men in pink can make a shock escape from this extremely tight group. Al Ahly and Porto need to win and hope Inter Miami and Palmeiras don't draw on the final day of group games. That result would confirm the exit of Al Ahly and Porto from the tournament no matter who wins their game. Therefore, a cagey low scoring draw could be the obvious outcome when the MLS side take on the Brazilians.
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Messi scores first goal at expanded Club World Cup, giving Inter Miami lead over Porto
Inter Miami's Lionel Messi reacts after scoring during the Club World Cup group A soccer match between Inter Miami and FC Porto in Atlanta, Thursday, June 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart) Inter Miami's Lionel Messi, center, celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the Club World Cup group A soccer match between Inter Miami and FC Porto in Atlanta, Thursday, June 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson) Inter Miami's Lionel Messi, second left, celebrates with Luis Suarez after scoring his side's second goal during the Club World Cup group A soccer match between Inter Miami and FC Porto in Atlanta, Thursday, June 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson) Inter Miami's Lionel Messi, center, celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the Club World Cup group A soccer match between Inter Miami and FC Porto in Atlanta, Thursday, June 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson) Inter Miami's Lionel Messi scores his side's second goal during the Club World Cup group A soccer match between Inter Miami and FC Porto in Atlanta, Thursday, June 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson) Inter Miami's Lionel Messi scores his side's second goal during the Club World Cup group A soccer match between Inter Miami and FC Porto in Atlanta, Thursday, June 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson) Inter Miami's Lionel Messi reacts after scoring during the Club World Cup group A soccer match between Inter Miami and FC Porto in Atlanta, Thursday, June 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart) Inter Miami's Lionel Messi, center, celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the Club World Cup group A soccer match between Inter Miami and FC Porto in Atlanta, Thursday, June 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson) Inter Miami's Lionel Messi, second left, celebrates with Luis Suarez after scoring his side's second goal during the Club World Cup group A soccer match between Inter Miami and FC Porto in Atlanta, Thursday, June 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson) Inter Miami's Lionel Messi, center, celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the Club World Cup group A soccer match between Inter Miami and FC Porto in Atlanta, Thursday, June 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson) Inter Miami's Lionel Messi scores his side's second goal during the Club World Cup group A soccer match between Inter Miami and FC Porto in Atlanta, Thursday, June 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson) ATLANTA (AP) — Lionel Messi scored his first goal of the expanded Club World Cup on Thursday with a patented free kick, giving Inter Miami a 2-1 lead over Porto. Messi, one of the biggest stars in the 32-team tournament, was taken down just outside the penalty area by Rodrigo Mora on a run down the middle of the field. With the crowd at Mercedes-Benz Stadium chanting 'Messi!" over and over again, his left-footed blast cleared the Porto wall and ripped the net in the top right corner in the 54th minute. Advertisement Inter Miami trailed 1-0 at the break, but Telasco Segovia tied it two minutes into the second half off a cross into the box from from Marcelo Weigandt. Then it was time for the 37-year-old Argentine to shine. The Group A game between the MLS club and two-time European champion Porto was a crucial game in determining who advances to the knockout round from Group A. ___ AP soccer:
Daily Mail
20 hours ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez both to score tonight is NOW 9/1 - as Inter Miami face Porto in the Club World Cup
Inter Miami's FIFA Club World Cup campaign kicked off with a stalemate, as they had to settle for a 0-0 draw with Al-Ahly on Sunday. The MLS outfit will have the chance to secure their first win of the tournament when they take on Porto in their second group game in Atlanta tonight. They aren't tipped to do so however - with the American side currently 13/5 outsiders to upset their Portuguese opponents. Conversely, Porto are odds-on favourites at 4/5 to come away with the win, while a draw is priced at 14/5. For those in search of longer odds, there are four Price Boosts on offer for this contest - the first two of which include Lionel Messi to have 2+ shots on target at 1/1, and each team to have 2+ shots on target in each half at 5/1. Messi has had 30 shots on target and netted six goals in 13 MLS appearances for Inter Miami this season. Meanwhile, the other two boosts are for Sergio Busquets to commit 3+ fouls at 7/1, and Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez both to score at 9/1. Suarez has scored eight goals across all competitions to date this season. Sky Bet odds for Inter Miami vs Porto: Porto 4/5 Inter Miami 13/5 Draw 14/5 Sky Bet Price Boosts for Inter Miami vs Porto: Lionel Messi to have 2+ shots on target WAS 5/6 NOW 1/1 Each team to have 2+ shots on target in each half WAS 3/1 NOW 5/1 Sergio Busquets to commit 3+ fouls WAS 5/1 NOW 7/1 Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez both to score WAS 15/2 NOW 9/1
