Inter Miami earned a 2-2 draw against visiting Palmeiras on Monday to qualify for the Club World Cup round of 16, emerging from Group A in second place with an unbeaten record.
Miami, which features Lionel Messi, is the sole MLS representative to advance to the knockout phase, where it will face European champions Paris Saint-Germain, the club where the Argentina star spent two seasons (2021-2023).
Miami left back Jordi Alba labeled PSG the “current best in the entire world.”
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“I’m proud of the team, and now we’re competing against a top team like PSG,” Alba said. “It’s great. For me, they’re playing the best football in Europe, and well, it’s obviously a very difficult match, but we’re going to try to compete.
“Why not dream of beating the European champion? It will be very difficult. We know the quality of all the players, and for me, Luis Enrique is the best coach in the world. I know him very well.
“This is football, and it’s 90-something minutes, and well, why not dream? … They’re [PSG] the ones who play the best football today. They’re very versatile, with very good wide players, and guys in midfield who have the ball. Overall, they’re the most complete team, for me. We’ll see how far we can go and try to compete.”
Miami established the early lead over Palmeiras in the first half with a goal from Tadeo Allende in the 16th minute. Luis Suárez doubled the score in the 65th minute. The Major League Soccer side almost clinched first place in Group A, but allowed two goals in the final minutes of the match to conclude with a draw.
Unbeaten Inter Miami will face Group B winner Paris Saint-Germain, Lionel Messi’s former club, in the next round of the Club World Cup. Marco Bello-Reuters via Imagn Images
If they had won, Inter Miami would have faced Botafogo in the knockout round of the competition instead of PSG.
“We had it all there. For a moment, we already saw ourselves playing against Botafogo, but football is like this. You lose focus for 15 seconds, 30 seconds, and you pay dearly for it,” Suárez said.
“We know it’s going to 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 departing 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,” Alba said
“I think not only as a coach but also as a team manager. For me, they’re phenomenal. I’m also looking forward to seeing Rafel Pol, Joaquín Valdés, all their staff, and the players who play with them at Barcelona, and sharing them well. It’s 90 minutes, and well, I think we should be proud of how we’ve competed in these three games. Now, let’s compete against PSG.”
The Miami-PSG match will be played June 29 at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.