Lionel Messi and Inter Miami were held to a 0-0 draw by Egyptian side Al Ahly on Saturday as FIFA’s new 32-team tournament got off to a smooth start in front of 60,927 fans in Florida.
Messi was denied a storybook stoppage-time winner when he saw his curling shot from 20 yards out tipped on to the bar by Mohamed El Shenawy as Miami piled on the pressure in the final minutes of the game.
Al Ahly, who were cheered on by over 10,000 of their supporters, were left to rue a first-half penalty from Egypt international Trezeguet which was saved by Miami’s Argentine keeper Oscar Ustari.
But the Egyptians also had El Shenawy to thank for another fine save in the dying seconds to keep out a header from Maxi Falcon as Miami pushed for three points in the Group A clash.
For organisers FIFA, who have faced heavy skepticism over the necessity for the tournament, the absence of a goal was the only disappointment on a night that delivered everything else that their president Gianni Infantino had hoped for from the opening night.
Fears of a low crowd for the opener eased as the seats in the 64,000 venue began to fill up with the stadium almost full at kick-off time.
Thousands of fans of Al Ahly, record 12 times African Champions League winner and 45-time league champions of Egypt, arrived at Hard Rock Stadium well ahead of kick-off and made their presence felt with singing and chanting.
The stadium, home to the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, witnessed chaotic scenes last year at the final of the Copa America between Argentina and Colombia where fans broke into the ground after long delays to enter.
Penalty drama
But there was an efficient filter system set up for ticket and security checks well away from the stadium perimeter and there were no signs of any problems.
Nor was there any indication of the controversial crackdown on illegal immigrants from US President Donald Trump’s administration having any impact on the game in the heavily Hispanic South Florida community.
While there were no goals to celebrate, the game was far from boring with Al Ahly enjoying the better of the first half before Miami improved significantly after the break.
Al Ahly opened up Miami’s defence with ease in the opening minutes of the game and Emam Ashour was denied by Ustari after being put through by Trezeguet.
Palestine international striker Wessam Abou Ali had an effort ruled out for offside in the 31st minute and then the Denmark-born forward had a fierce strike tipped over by Ustari.
The penalty came when Telasco Segovia bundled over Zizo but Trezeguet’s spot kick was weak and parried out with the former Aston Villa forward unable to react fast enough to the rebound.
Miami were stronger after the break with Messi going close in the 64th minute with a free-kick which grazed the post before hitting the side-netting, tricking part of the crowd into thinking he had scored.
He nearly did in stoppage time, after a well-worked short-corner but the outstretched finger tip of El Shenawy was to deny him.
Miami face Porto in Atlanta on Thursday before returning home to face Brazil’s Palmeiras on Monday and while those should be tougher tests, their Argentina coach Javier Mascherano was upbeat.
“The truth is we leave with the feeling that we could have won it in the second half. Going forward we have to do what we did in the second half, not have any fear, shed whatever baggage we had because when we play like that, we can play even with any team,” he said.
Al Ahly’s Spanish coach Jose Riveiro, who only took charge of the team for this tournament, said his team should have finished the game off in the first half.
“It’s a game of mistakes. We had a decent amount of chances in the first half to put the game in a different space,” he said before praising the team’s fans.
“It was like we were playing in Cairo and that was a surprise for me in my first official match with Al Ahly. To be here in the States and have it like you were playing at home is something that can probably only happen in this club,” he said.
