‘Huge Privilege’—Javier Mascherano Reveals Inter Miami’s Mindset for Club World Cup | OneFootball

Javier Mascherano is reveling in the “dream” of leading Inter Miami at this summer’s FIFA Club World Cup.

After Inter Miami won the 2024 Supporters’ Shield, FIFA president Gianni Infantino officially invited the Herons to play in the newly expanded 2025 FIFA Club World Cup as the host nation. The decision came after the Eastern Conference side completed its record-breaking regular season in which it tallied 74 points.

The incredible run came under Gerardo "Tata" Martino, who parted ways with the club following Inter Miami’s shocking Round One exit in the 2024 MLS Cup playoffs. Mascherano took over the Herons and now is the man tasked with leading them to glory this summer.

Mascherano recently revealed how much it means for not just the Herons, but also for the city of Miami and the United States to be represented in the tournament.

“Obviously it means a lot for the club, for the city, for the country because it’s a competition with teams that have a lot of history,” Mascherano said.

“To be able to dream of competing and maybe, who knows, facing one of these great teams is truly a huge privilege.”

Although Inter Miami are one of the underdogs in the competition, they still are aiming to make a deep run across the United States this summer. Should the Herons win the tournament, they will earn their first piece of silverware under Mascherano and just their third in club history.

Inter Miami are one of three MLS sides that qualified for this summer’s FIFA Club World Cup; Seattle Sounders and LAFC will also take part in tournament and compete alongside some of the biggest clubs in Europe, including Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City.

The pressure will especially be on Inter Miami, though, to perform at the highest level. With a team full of former Barcelona legends, including Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets, the expectations are high for the American outfit despite a rather underwhelming season so far.

From the end of April to the end of May, the Herons had won just one of their eight matches across all competitions. The team then finally secured back-to-back victories in their final two MLS matches before the tournament.

Mascherano will hope his men can carry that momentum into the FIFA Club World Cup, where they will open the tournament against Egyptian side Al Ahly on Saturday, June 14, at Hard Rock Stadium.

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