Soccer <\/p>\n
It turns out the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup<\/a> group stage was less a formality (mea culpa) and more a war of attrition.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The Brazilian teams have shined bright; Real Madrid dropped points to Al-Hilal; Boca Juniors somehow drew both mighty Benfica and semi-pro Auckland City, and are now watching the rest of the tournament from home. And Inter Miami<\/a> \u2013 sixth-place in the Eastern Conference! \u2013 rebounded from a disappointing opener against Al Ahly with historic results against FC Porto and Palmeiras, punching their ticket to the knockout rounds. They\u2019re one of two Concacaf sides to have done so (CF Monterrey of LIGA MX are the other), and the only one of three MLS entrants to do the job.<\/p>\n Now comes the reward. Or the punishment, depending on your perspective.<\/p>\n Lionel Messi<\/a> and company will take the field against Paris Saint-Germain in the Round of 16 on Sunday (12 pm ET | DAZN.com<\/a>). They\u2019re facing the reigning UEFA Champions League winners, Ligue 1 champions for what feels like the 20th straight year, and a team with a very real claim to the title of Best Club Side in the World\u2122.<\/p>\n They are terrifying. Ask the other Inter side in the knockout stage about them.<\/p>\n But much of the pre-match narrative will be less about PSG\u2019s terrifyingness and more about Messi\u2019s PSG past. This is a reunion loaded with subtext: an icon facing his former club on what FIFA hopes will become the biggest stage the sport has to offer outside of the actual World Cup (funny how that worked out). Millions will be watching.<\/p>\n They’ve come this far. They\u2019ll need a mini-miracle to go further. They have Messi.<\/p>\n Winner gets Flamengo (Brazil) or Bayern Munich (Germany) in the quarterfinals on July 5.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Paris Saint-Germain<\/strong><\/p>\n Inter Miami CF<\/strong><\/p>\n PSG got that Champions League monkey off their backs, finally joining the club whose door they\u2019d been trying to batter down for a dozen years.<\/p>\n Now they need to start collecting more big, international trophies to confirm their spot in perpetuity. Winning the inaugural, expanded edition of the Club World Cup seems like a great way to do that.<\/p>\n Losing to an MLS team? Even one led by Messi? You can imagine what the critics would do with that.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Expectations entering the 2025 season were high. But after a promising start, the Herons have fallen somewhat short, with a prolonged slump that saw them drop from the top of the Supporters\u2019 Shield standings and get trounced in the Concacaf Champions Cup<\/a> by Vancouver<\/a>. There probably won\u2019t be a defense of last year\u2019s Shield; there definitely won\u2019t be a continental title.<\/p>\n And yet they have probably exceeded expectations here in just getting out of their Club World Cup group. A win? It feels almost impossible to imagine.<\/p>\n A one-sided loss? The bad vibes of April and May might come rushing back.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Paris Saint-Germain<\/strong><\/p>\n Luis Enrique\u2019s men won that Champions League trophy by, unsurprisingly, playing a front-foot 4-3-3 heavy on possession and absolutely fanatical about pressing (both regular and counter-pressing).<\/p>\n The key was Ousmane Demb\u00e9l\u00e9, who went from an injury-prone, disappointing winger with Barcelona to the best pressing No. 9 in the world in Paris. Enrique called him the MVP of the win over Inter Milan for his work against the ball, which the Italians could not handle:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \n \n
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