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WEDNESDAY | JUNE 25, 2025

Malaysian Paper

Reunion in Atlanta in Atlanta

L IONEL MESSI faces a reunion with his former club Paris Saint-Germain after his Inter Miami side reached the last 16 of the Club World Cup with a 2-2 draw with Palmeiras. The Brazilian side fought back from two goals down to draw at Hard Rock Stadium, a result which secured both teams a place in the knockout stages. Goals from Tadeo Allende and Luis Suarez had Miami on course for a second surprise victory in the tournament after their win over Porto. But the Brazilian side struck twice in the last 10 minutes through Paulinho and Mauricio to make sure of their place in the next round. Few expected Miami to make it out of the group but they now face the European champions while Palmeiras will have an all-Brazilian encounter with Botafogo. For Messi, the tie in Atlanta will see him face his former club PSG for the first time since leaving them to join Miami in 2023. “It’s a historic night for the MLS because we are into the best 16 teams in the world and all the MLS have to be proud of Inter Miami,” said Miami coach Javier Mascherano. The result meant that Egyptian club Al Ahly and Porto were both eliminated despite producing a highly entertaining 4-4 draw at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. “It was a great game from us, it’s difficult to play against one

performance against these kind of teams I would have signed for it.” PSG have certainly moved on from their traumatic Champions League exit in 2017, when they won the first leg in Paris 4-0 but were thrashed 6-1 in the return match in Barcelona. The French side claimed their first Champions League title this season in a campaign masterminded by Luis Enrique, but Messi and Co. will be eager to cause another upset. Suarez, who like Messi spent two seasons at PSG, showed that at 38 year-old he still has the game to score on the big stage, notching Miami’s second in their draw with Palmeiras. Miami coach Mascherano added: “They are probably better than us, but in football you never know. Maybe Sunday will be our day.” Miami forward and Man of the Match Luis Suarez said: “If we make these mistakes against PSG we will pay a heavy price. Obviously, in this kind of tournament there is always going to be a favourite, that’s just a fact. We’ll be facing the European champions and we will have to try and take our chances. “Luis Enrique has seen many players and he influenced me a lot. I already had a competitive DNA but he made me even more competitive.” Abel Ferreira, the Palmeiras head coach, was highly critical of his team’s opening 45 minutes but pleased with their reaction.

Messi to face PSG in round of 16 after Miami and Palmeiras draw

Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi (centre) in action with Palmeiras’ Richard Rios (left) and Mauricio (right). – REUTERSPIC

“I told them at half-time that it was impossible to do worse than what we did in the first half. We were unable to contain our opponents or put pressure on them up front. But our spirit of fighting until the end was particularly important in the second half, and we were rewarded for that,” he said. – AFP

of the best teams in South America,” said Mascherano. “Maybe at the end we had the game in our hands so the feeling is strange but before the start of the tournament if someone told me we were going to have this kind of

Bradley eyes captain role Story on page 30 ‘Not at the level’

Story on page 29

Javier Mascherano. – AFPPIC

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