‘A Chance to Surprise’—Lionel Messi, Suarez Open Up on Inter Miami Expectations at Club World Cup | OneFootball

As Lionel Messi gets set to enter the FIFA Club World Cup with Inter Miami CF, he enters a tournament in a much different way than he has in the past–– without expectation.

With the best clubs from around the world descending upon the United States for the first 32-team edition of the Club World Cup, Messi’s Miami will face an uphill challenge of advancing from their group, let alone advancing through the knockout stages.

No doubt, a far cry from the previous Club World Cups Messi has played in while a member of FC Barcelona, and the World Cups with Argentina, where the weight of expectations was paramount to any on-field efforts.

“It's an interesting competition,” Messi told FIFA on Friday. “Having the chance to be part of it is exciting. The expectations I have are different to the ones I had when I played for other teams, but I'm eager and I look forward to competing against the best [teams] and doing well.”

Miami qualified as the host team, with their picked berth veiled in a Supporters’ Shield title, having topped MLS with 74 points in the 2024 regular season. They set a record for the most points in a single campaign, before losing to Atlanta United in the first round of the playoffs.

The Herons will open the tournament on Saturday against 45-time Egyptian champions Al-Ahly, before also facing Portugal’s FC Porto and Brazil’s Palmeiras in group play, with all three teams posing significant challenges for the sixth-placed squad in the MLS Eastern Conference.

“Like I said before, they have the best players in the world," Messi added, about the other teams in the Club World Cup. “So it's a great opportunity to go up against them, and a really nice experience both for the players on the pitch and for the fans in the stands.”

However, teammate Luis Suárez sees the tournament in a slightly different way. Not only is it an opportunity for Miami to showcase their project and their superstar talent, but also a chance to surprise European teams, who could be fatigued after a long season.

Meanwhile, it also gives the aging stars of Messi, Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba––who is injured for the first game––a chance to see how they stack up to some of the world’s best in the twilight years of their careers.

“We should also note that they’re coming here after a long season. It’s getting longer for them. There are many tournaments that they’ve had to play, and perhaps they’ll arrive with some fatigue,” Suarez told reporters.

“But players will always want to play against Atlético Madrid, Paris [Saint-Germain], who have won it all. There’s [Manchester] City, [Real] Madrid, Juventus, Inter [Milan], Bayern [Munich] are all really strong teams, but I think there will be some surprise results...let’s hope it comes from our end.”

An Opprtunity for Miami's Young Players

Telasco Segovia (left) and Benjamin Cremaschi are two of Miami's standout young players at the FIFA Club World Cup. / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

At the same time, there’s hope that the young players on Miami’s roster, like center back Noah Allen, midfielders Federico Redondo and Benjamin Cremaschi, as well as attackers Telasco Segovia and Tadeo Allende, could attract some attention against some of the world’s best teams.

“The players who haven’t [played in a major tournament] should try to enjoy it and take advantage of the important showcase that it is in order to grow as a player and show their quality,” Suárez added. “That’s important if they want to continue to develop as footballers.”

Although Miami went through struggles in MLS and the Concacaf Champions Cup to start the season, they enter the Club World Cup in form, after defeating Columbus Crew SC 5–1 in their last MLS match, where Messi scored twice and had three assists.

Now though, the focus shifts onto proving themselves amongst the world’s best, and the club has maintained that they are keeping their sights to each game individually, with hopes of advancing from the group, proving that MLS can compete with the world’s best, and that their aging form is still to be reckoned with.

“We have a beautiful possibility ahead of us, and the challenge is something that we welcome with excitement, with a great deal of self-confidence,” head coach Javier Mascherano said. “We are looking forward to showcasing our true potential as a team.”

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