João Neves Double Leads PSG Past Messi’s Inter Miami in Club World Cup Rout
Paris Saint-Germain delivered a commanding performance to eliminate Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami from the FIFA Club World Cup, cruising to a 4-0 victory at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday. The French champions secured a place in the quarterfinals with clinical precision and a relentless first-half display.
João Neves was the star of the night, scoring twice in the opening period. PSG opened the scoring just six minutes in when Neves found space at the far post and powered in a header from a pinpoint free kick. The Portuguese midfielder struck again in the 39th minute, capping a slick attacking move involving Bradley Barcola and Fabián Ruiz, whose curling cross was met with a confident finish.
Inter Miami, led by global icon Lionel Messi, struggled to cope with PSG’s intensity. Their challenge effectively ended before halftime when defender Tomás Avilés turned the ball into his own net, and Achraf Hakimi added a fourth with a well-taken goal just before the break.
PSG’s ruthlessness left little room for Miami to respond. Although Messi saw more of the ball in the second half and forced a save from Gianluigi Donnarumma with a header, as well as striking a free kick into the wall, the crowd’s anticipation of a magic moment from No. 10 went unfulfilled.
Fans in pink-filled stands chanted “Messi! Messi! Messi!” throughout, but the Argentine spent most of the first half isolated in midfield, tightly marked and unable to influence the game. Miami’s best opportunity came early in the second half when Luis Suárez broke into the box, only to mishit his shot wide — his frustration boiling over as he kicked a water bottle in disappointment.
After the final whistle, Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano acknowledged the gap in quality but praised his team’s effort. “I’m very proud of my players. Today you could see the difference in class, but football gave us the opportunity to compete,” he said. “This is probably the best team in the world with a great coach, and we took them on.”
PSG head coach Luis Enrique was pleased with his side’s dominant showing but remained grounded. “It was an almost perfect match. We created a lot of chances and I’m happy, but I think we still need to improve — that’s football.”
With the win, PSG advance to the quarterfinals of the Club World Cup, where they will face the winner of the upcoming clash between Flamengo and Bayern Munich.
