Paris Saint-Germain wasted no time getting ahead via Joao Neves in the sixth minute to defeat Inter Miami by 4-0, booking their place in the quarterfinals of the Club World Cup on Sunday. Ousmane Dembele made his first appearance in the tournament from the bench, but it was out of sight in the first half of play when PSG went into the break leading by four goals, three of which came in the final moments of the first half.
It was Lionel Messi's first match facing his former club since he departed for Miami in 2023, and it was mostly one to forget. Miami lost young defender Noah Allen to what seemed like a hamstring injury and he was replaced by Tomas Aviles, who ended up scoring an own goal. PSG were the only team on the pitch for the match, and while Miami did push for a goal late, it wouldn't be enough as the Parisians are still in a groove after winning the Champions League final. Luis Enrique has turned their focus to winning the Club World Cup, and next up will be a clash facing Bayern Munich or Flamengo.
It's a match where PSG could've scored more goals, but going ahead by so much, Enrique was able to make changes, allowing his team to rest ahead of the next round. With their ability to score from anywhere, PSG are one of the toughest teams to stop in the world, but defensively, they are a strong club too.
Holding Inter Miami to only three shots on target, PSG's strength was already clear after winning the treble, but these were two teams in different classes. The Herons did their best to keep up and can feel proud that they made it to the knockout stages of the Club World Cup, but there's a long way for MLS to go if they want to look like they can share the pitch with teams in top European leagues. Miami may have defeated Porto, but that wasn't even the best team in Portugal, let alone one of the best teams in the world. Playing PSG showed what can happen when an MLS team faces one of the best teams in the world, and it's not pretty.
Only one team was on the pitch, with PSG scored three goals in the final nine minutes of the first half to book their place in the last eight of the Club World Cup. With Ousmane Dembele getting back into the team, Luis Enrique will also have a side back at full strength when he needs it most. A scary proposition for teams around the world.
Now that's a rare sight to see. The crowd is going wild as Miami pushes for a goal at the end of the match but Donnarumma was there to save the unexpected chance.
Miami draws a corner after a good run of play. A consolation goal may be coming.
Nuno Mendes and Achraf Hakimi exit with Lucas Hernandez and Kang-In Lee entering. There's a chance that PSG can get another, but they seem happy with the game as is.
Joao Neves will depart as Ousmane Dembele subs on for his first minutes of the Club World Cup. PSG's already ahead 4-0 and being able to bring Dembele on ahead by that much is cruel.
They've now taken a few shots in the second half of play. It's still all PSG but a small victory is something for the Herons who are looking to get something in order to save face here.
With the match all but decided, PSG has made a few changes to keep key players fresh. Marquinhos has gone out for Lucas Beraldo, while Fabian Ruiz has exited for Warren Zaire-Emery. The Parsians will still push for more goals in the match but more changes will likely come.
Miami didn't put up a fight, only holding 27% of possession, and they didn't even take a shot. To say it was all PSG would be an understatement.
This time, it's Hakimi, and Miami can't do anything to stop the will of the Parsians. it came back off the bars and he knocked it in deep into stoppage time. Miami will be lucky to even get a goal.
It's an own goal from Tomas Aviles after Fabian Ruiz puts the pressure on. There's still time for PSG to get a fourth as there will be stoppage time to end the half. There are three minutes of that to come.
It's Joao Neves again after Sergio Busquets is dispossessed in a horror show for the Herons. A few passes and it was in the back of Ustari's net to give PSG a chance to put the match out of sight before halftime.
At this point, Miami will be happy if they can get to the break without allowing another goal. There's around 12 minutes remaining before they can accomplish that feat although Nuno Mendes came close to scoring.
Noah Allen will exit with what seems like a hamstring injury and Inter Miami will have to bring Tomas Aviles into the match. Aviles responds by immediately picking up a yellow card, which will see him suspended for the next round if Miami does find a way to advance.
Fabian Ruiz scored from an offside position, but Miami looked suspect from another corner kick. Even after going ahead early, the Parisians want more to put this game out of sight as soon as possible. So far, Miami isn't doing much to deny them.
PSG took advantage of a foul by Marcelo Weigandt to find Joao Neves from a free kick after excellent service from Vitinha. Miami's job was already a tough one but will this early lead be too much to come back from?
Ustari is forced into a strong save on Barcola within the first four minutes, and it's all PSG in the early going. They're going to bring immense pressure and it's up to Miami's defense to prove that they can keep up.
Inter Miami and PSG will see if this becomes the third consecutive game to go to extra time.
We've got 10 minutes left until it's time for this fascinating clash to kick off.
This is going to be the toughest match in Inter Miami's short history, and it feels tough to see a world in which they defeat PSG. But this is also why we play the games. Inter Miami could pull it off but they'll need everything to go just right while also having an unreal match from Messi to win. Prediction: PSG 3, Inter Miami 1
Luis Enrique has been taking things slowly with Dembele during this tournament after he picked up an injury. Dembele is on the bench to face Inter Miami, but the goal will likely be not to use him in the clash.
PSG Starters: Gianluigi Donnarumma, Achraf Hakimi, Marquinhos, Willian Pacho, Nuno Mendes, Fabian Ruiz, Vitinha, Joao Neves, Deserie Doue, Bradley Barcola, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia
The Herons are close to full strength, with Jordi Alba being fit enough to start the match.
Inter Miami starters: Oscar Ustari, Jordi Alba, Noah Allen, Maximiliano Falcon, Marcelo Weigandt, Telasco Segovia, Sergio Busquets, Federico Redondo, Tadeo Allende, Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi
While every team wants to win this competition for sporting reasons, there are a few million other reasons why they would like to as well. Just for taking part in the round of 16, these teams have already earned an additional 7.5 million dollars but the winner will almost double that with 13.13 million dollars available for participating in the quarterfinals of the competition. This will only continue to scale as the competition continues with the champion earning 40 million for winning.
The Club World Cup rolls on with quite a clash as PSG and Inter Miami will face each other. One semifinal matchup is already set with Palmeiras and Chelsea meeting and another will be set as the winner of this match will face either Flamengo or Bayern Munich but before all that, these squads have a job to do. It's Lionel Messi's first time facing PSG since departing for Inter Miami and it's a match that could bring quite a cinema to this tournament.
