Miami earns showdown with ‘best in the world’ PSG in CWC round of 16
Inter Miami obtained a 2-2 draw against the visit of Palmeiras on Monday to qualify for the Hold-H 16-year-old club, leaving group A in second place with an undefeated record.
Miami, who presents Lionel Messi, is the only MLS representative to qualify for the direct elimination phase, where he will face the European Champions Paris Saint-Germain, the club where the Star of Argentina spent two seasons (2021-2023).
Miami left Jordi Alba called PSG “best current worldwide”.
“I’m proud of the team, and now we are rivaling a high -level team like PSG,” said Alba. “It’s great. For me, they play the best football in Europe, well, it’s obviously a very difficult match, but we will try to compete.
“Why not dream of beat the European champion? It will be very difficult. We know the quality of all players, and for me, Luis Enrique is the best coach in the world. I know him very well.
“It’s football, and it’s 90 minutes, well, why not dream? … They are [PSG] Those who play the best football today. They are very versatile, with very good wide players and guys in the midfield that have the ball. Overall, they are the most complete team for me. We will see how far we can go and try to compete. “”
Miami established the first advance on Palmeiras in the first half with a goal from Tadeo Allende in the 16th minute. Luis Suárez doubled the scoring in the 65th minute. The Major Football League team almost won the first place in group A, but granted two goals in the last minutes of the match to conclude with a draw.
If they had won, Inter Miami would have faced Botafogo during the Channel with direct competition from the competition instead of PSG.
“We had everything there. For a while, we have already seen each other against Botafogo, but football is like that. You lose concentration for 15 seconds, 30 seconds, and you pay a lot for that,” said Suárez.
“We know it will be very difficult, very complicated, but we have the tools we need to compete.”
Messi will face his former team for the first time since his departure from PSG in 2023 to join Inter Miami. Messi, Suárez, Alba and Sergio Busquets will face their former manager after playing under Enrique at FC Barcelona.
“But for me, he’s the best,” said Alba
“I think that not only as a coach but also as a team leader. For me, they are phenomenal. I also look forward to seeing Rafel Pol, Joaquín Valdés, all their employees and the players who play with them in Barcelona and to share them well. It is 90 minutes, and well, I think we should be proud of the way we have contributed to these three games.
The Miami-PSG match will be played on June 29 at the Mercedes-Benz stadium in Atlanta.
