Right, that concludes this live blog. As always, a big thank you for joining us. The match report will drop in here shortly, as eyes turn towards the Bayern Munich v Flamengo match later on.
Paris Saint-Germain march on, and Inter Miami are heading home. Thanks again, peace out. Here is that report via Sid Lowe.
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Inter Miami head coach Javier Mascherano is speaking to DAZN:
We saw the difference between the teams. We’re very proud of the guys, they worked hard, they tried to play. I think we have to look forward because that was a great experience for us.
We played well during this tournament. We knew today was going to be very difficult as they’re probably the best team in the world.
England have thrashed Jamaica 7-0 in the women’s international friendly tonight. So not much in the way of competitive or close football to bring you, sadly, as of yet today.
Paris Saint-Germain’s trophy haul for the year is already quite impressive.
Ligue 1 champions, Coupe de France holders, Champions League winners. Will Enrique’s PSG add Club World Cup champions to their list of 2024-25 honours? You would struggle to bet against them on current form.
FT: Paris Saint-Germain 4-0 Inter Miami
It’s done and dusted. PSG did the damage in the first half courtesy of João Neves’s double, an own goal from Inter Miami’s hapless defender Tomás Avilés and Achraf Hakimi’s strike. The MLS outfit had little answer to the attacking brilliance and relentless pressing from the Parisians, although they did produce an improved second half showing, albeit with PSG’s feet off the gas somewhat.
Luis Enrique’s side will meet either Flamengo or Bayern Munich in the last eight. Lionel Messi and his Miami teammates have gone out of the Club World Cup with a bit of a whimper.
90 mins: We’re heading into just two minutes of added time, as PSG open up once more, looking to a fifth to really rub salt into the wounds of Messi and co.
Into the wall from Messi! All that buildup came to nothing…
87 mins: Oooh, Miami have a free-kick 20 yards out, central, slightly to the right. Step forward, Leo.
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86 mins: Jordi Alba has come more into the game in the second half. He was anonymous as an attacking force in the early stages, pinned back by PSG’s attacking brilliance.
84 mins: Dembélé has looked like a player coming back from injury. A pass or two, or three, has gone awry. You wouldn’t expect him to show such sluggishness as this tournament wears on and he regains full fitness.
82 mins: PSG have done a decent job of managing the game, having done more than enough in the first half to build a formidable lead. They’re now in keep-ball mode.
Inter Miami’s tank looks to be emptying fast.
80 mins: And Messi does go close! This time it’s a forceful header that forces Donnarumma into a decent save – one you’d expect the Italian to make, in fairness.
I wouldn’t be shocked if Messi got himself on the scoresheet here.
78 mins: As I was putting in that email from Kári, Messi got the ball and found Suárez with a neat volleyed pass … it brought nothing more than a corner, though.
An email from Kári Tulinius :
It happens to all footballers, and all the rest of us too, but Messi has resisted so long looking old. But in this match he’s looked old. Mind you, he might well set up two in quick succession and then score a brace to equalise, but I’d be surprised if he did, and that never surprised me before.
76 mins: I’d be giving the ‘Superior Player of the Match’ award to João Neves, but that’s just me, and for what it’s worth I wouldn’t be naming it ‘Superior Player of the Match’.
75 mins: That’s not a terrible header from Allende after Miami keep it alive down the left and cross it in, but Donnarumma makes a straightforward stop.
Cremaschi is on for Segovia for the Herons.
73 mins: Falcon clattered into his own goalkeeper there. Ustari has gone down a few times today, but he seems OK.
He’s probably just sick of picking the ball out of his net.
71 mins: PSG now have five players on the pitch who you could classify as wingers:
Barcola, Dembélé, Kvaratskhelia, Doué and Lee. Crazy.
69 mins: Oh brilliant stuff from PSG, Dembélé and Barcola involved along with Zaïre-Emery and somehow Barcola has skied the finish.
Enrique is going to change his full-backs, with Lucas Hernández and Lee Kang-In replacing Hakimi and Mendes.
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67 mins: Kvaratskhelia was in oceans of room there but the pass was a poor one from Dembélé, who ignored the Georgian and couldn’t find Barcola either.
I suspect we’ll get more goals here, both teams seem to have abandoned the midfield region entirely.
64 mins: End-to-end stuff now, basketball game territory. Kvaratskhelia toys and feints, teasing a curling right-footed shot off target.
63 mins: Messi finally gets a shot on goal. That was sharp stuff, picking up a loose ball and eventually unleashing a left-footed effort, but it never had the power to trouble Donnarumma.
61 mins: We are going to see Ousmane Dembélé for half an hour. Now injury-free, he replaces João Neves, who won’t get the chance to bag a first career hat-trick.
60 mins: Messi drives forward, picks out Luis Suárez, who is keen to get it back to the Argentine with the cutback from the right, but there are so many PSG players scurrying back that Messi can do little to get a shot away.
59 mins: It looks like PSG have regained that hunger and that Inter Miami’s most promising spell is now at an end. From an American perspective, it was all too brief.
57 mins: Doué now eyes goal in a more direct way, drilling a low one from distance that Ustari is equal to.
Barcola then goes close, spinning beautiful away from his man but firing over the top, via a touch from the keeper.
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56 mins: Désiré Doué tries to work his way through another crowd of Inter Miami bodies in their box. It doesn’t quite come off, but the French youngster has been electric in this game.
54 mins: Here come the pink shirts again. Are PSG just going light on their opponents? Hmm, it seems like Miami have upped their intensity. They had to.
They’ve certainly been sharper with their passing tempo.
52 mins: The MLS outfit have arguably shown more in the past six minutes than they did all first half.
They have a corner here, earned after Messi’s shot was deflected, but it comes to little.
50 mins: The crowd want a free-kick as Messi is crowded out by PSG bodies and descend into boos when he doesn’t get it.
Nice for them, I suppose, that he’s had a couple of moments since the resumption.
49 mins: The crowd in Atlanta still come alive whenever Messi gets the ball. And wow, the little genius nearly provides a goal for his long-time teammate Luis Suárez. A mis-touch from the Uruguayan at the vital moment.
47 mins: PSG have begun the second half at walking pace. Insert joke about Messi’s off-the-ball activity.
We’re back under way.
The teams are back out for the second half. Messi is sporting quite a stoic expression, trudging back out slowly for the resumption.
Beraldo and Zaïre-Emery are going to get 45 minutes apiece.
Marquinhos and Ruiz are the men taken off.
It’s 30C, hot, humid and sticky in Atlanta this afternoon, so I wonder whether Luis Enrique will start ringing the changes at half-time, with PSG’s place in the quarter-finals virtually secure already.
How long before this tournament sifts out all the non-European sides? Will we get an all-European semi-final lineup, for example?
We wondered before kick-off how evident the gulf in class between the recently-crowned European champions and an MLS side packed with former greats would be, and we’ve seen an emphatic answer.
Paris Saint-Germain, both off the ball and on it, have exhibited their superiority. In terms of fitness, skill, tactical awareness and attacking flair. They’ve shown in all in spades and Inter Miami, for whom Lionel Messi has been peripheral to say the least, have been submissive. It’s 4-0 and it could get ugly, this one.
GOAL! PSG 4-0 Inter Miami (Hakimi, 45+3)
Goodness me, they’ve scored another!
Hakimi should have buried his first effort there, after Barcola squared it to the Moroccan off the right. His initial shot came off the woodwork, via the goalkeeper but the second was tucked safely away.
And that’s half-time.
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Three added minutes for Inter Miami to survive. Oh, and another 45 plus after that of course.
GOAL! PSG 3-0 Inter Miami (Avilés OG, 44)
The answer is yes! Désiré Doué’s cross ends up in the net after more sharp stuff down the PSG right. The final touch came off Fabian Ruiz, though he may not have known much about it.
No, it was an own goal from Tomás Avilés. What a miserable few minutes he’s had since coming on.
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43 mins: More PSG pressure as the first half nears a conclusion. Can they put this firmly to bed?
40 mins: Is that game over already? It feels like it, the way this game has gone. Inter Miami need a miracle. Luckily, they do have a miracle-maker in their ranks …
GOAL! PSG 2-0 Inter Miami (Neves, 39)
Walked into the net and Neves has two! Too easy. Nice and unselfish from Fabian Ruiz to square for the Portuguese, who simply could not miss.
Again it came from a fierce Paris Saint-Germain press which has overwhelmed Inter Miami throughout the half.
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36 mins: If Inter Miami can reach half-time sanctuary with the scoreline still 1-0, I suspect Mascherano and his staff will be delighted. Time for another PSG corner.
Close for Nuno Mendes? Well, the offside flag went up in the end, but the full-back was played through and rounded Ustari, before seeing his shot cleared off the line. Perhaps he’ll be thankful for the flag.
33 mins: Messi has been tidy enough on the ball, but Miami’s main problem is their midfield duo – one of which is a 36-year-old Sergio Busquets – are getting completely overrun.
31 mins: Suárez is doing his best to help his teammates, dropping deeper and deeper to make himself an option. But still Inter Miami can’t play through the press and Ruiz gets the next chance as a result… Doué’s smart dummy letting the Spain star shoot from 20 yards. Over.
28 mins: You just cannot take your eyes off Kvaratskhelia. Every time he gets the ball, he’s looking to beat his man, with Chelo Weigandt the unfortunate defender tasked with shackling him tonight.
Kvaradona is real.
26 mins: This time the set-piece produces zilch, as Nuno Mendes hammers a hopeful shot into bodies. Back come the French team, however, their speed of attack unrelenting so far.
25 mins: A bit better from Miami. Telasco Segovia did well to slalom away from PSG challengers, but as the attack fizzles out it only serves to give Kvaratskhelia more space to charge into, winning another free-kick.
It’s in the same spot that the goal came from.
23 mins: I may have to adjust my TV set, but I believe I just saw Lionel Messi engage in some pressing, like actually closing players down.
Kvaratskhelia is the latest PSG player to send a shot just past the post. It’s incredible this is only 1-0.
22 mins: Hakimi has a shot blocked! Blimey that was a lovely pass from Ruiz that totally unlocked the Miami defence. From the resulting corner, Vitinha volleys at goal but it’s well held by Ustari. I think the offside flag went up anyway.
And time for another delay now with Ustari down injured …
20 mins: Avilés’ first act is to be booked for a wildly late challenge. Talk about welcoming yourself to the game.
It’s all gone a bit stop-start now.
19 mins: Allen isn’t going to be able to continue, so Tomás Avilés, who started Inter Miami’s game against Palmeiras, comes on.
17 mins: More good interplay between these PSG players, with Mendes’ threaded pass finding Doué but Ruiz was off balance when he received it from the French youngster.
Noah Allen is down with a hamstring issue for Miami.
Another goal from a set-piece? No, Fabian Ruiz is rightly denied by the offside flag. This time it was the second ball, with Barcola’s header finding the Spaniard to tap home with his head. Inter Miami survive this time.
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14 mins: The co-commentator, Don Hutchison, has just called Messi a “grandmaster in a chess game”, presumably referring to the Argentinian’s entire career and not the past few minutes of this game.
Inter Miami simply have to get their star man into the game – if they can grab a brief hold of the football.
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12 mins: I’m not sure Lionel Messi has touched the ball yet …
11 mins: We’ve had a slight delay because Kvaratskhelia remained on the turf after a meaty coming-together with Chelo Weigandt. Not a huge amount in it, but the Georgian did get a push to the face, of sorts.
9 mins: It’s just too fast and too skilful from PSG at the moment and Inter Miami’s heads will be spinning trying to keep track of Kvaratskhelia and co. It could be a case of damage limitation for the time being.
8 mins: That goal could rather scupper Javier Mascherano’s gameplan, which was clearly to sit in, remain compact and frustrate the European champions. Inter Miami will now need a goal at some point.
GOAL! PSG 1-0 Inter Miami (Neves, 6)
That didn’t take long! It’s midfielder to midfielder as Vitinha’s free-kick finds the unmarked João Neves ghosting around the back post to head home.
Poor defending from the MLS side. They cannot afford to do that from set-pieces against a team like PSG.
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4 mins: What a sensational run from Kvaratskhelia. The Georgian displays his trademark fast feet, swerving through bodies off the left after a quick layoff from Doué. Such a shame, from a PSG perspective, that it didn’t end with a goal. The boy Kvaratskhelia is magic.
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3 mins: It’s a pretty partisan crowd, many wearing the pink of the US-based side, rather than a Parisian crowd.
An early break for Inter Miami is quickly snuffed out by Marquinhos.
1 min: What on earth was that? From kick-off, PSG have just thumped the ball straight out for an Inter Miami goal-kick. Odd.
KICK OFF
Let’s go!
An almighty roar greets Messi’s arrival through the doors, pennant in hand. He looks all business. Nearly time for KO.
These walk outs are a bit silly
— Sid Lowe (@sidlowe) June 29, 2025
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I think it’s no exaggeration to say this is the Club World Cup game that’s attracted the most publicity thus far. The gaggle of photographers and cameramen either side of the tunnel waiting for the players tell its own story. No doubt a certain Mister Lionel Messi will receive more glare than anyone else.
Here come the officials followed by the teams, as the club badges are unfurled during the now-standard light show.
Just a reminder that the winner of this one will play Bayern Munich or Flamengo (probably Bayern) in the quarter-finals.
That game takes place later on today. The other last 16 ties are:
Inter Milan v Fluminense
Manchester City v Al Hilal
Real Madrid v Juventus
Borussia Dortmund v Monterrey
And there’s some other live football in our offering today, as the Lionesses gear up for Euro 2025 with a final warmup friendly, taking on Jamaica at the King Power Stadium. Rob Smyth is all over the action.
Some vital pre-match reading from our man in the know when it comes to French football, Philippe Auclair.
David Beckham is in the building, sporting a sling on his right arm. It’s believed that GoldenBalls recently had surgery on his wrist – an injury that apparently dates back to something he sustained in an England match 22 years ago. Anyway, he looks happy enough as always – he’s another who’s got a foot in both camps this afternoon, as a former PSG player and a current Inter Miami co-owner.
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No great surprises in the two lineups. As predicted, Dembélé is on the PSG bench, with Bradley Barcola joining the two starlets of the French side’s Champions League run, Désiré Doué and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, in the front three. Expect Inter Miami to play a loose 4-4-2, with Messi and Luis Suárez given license to roam around up front.
Both teams have two goalkeepers apiece on the bench, incidentally which is both increasingly common in modern football and usually a completely pointless exercise.
Team news
PSG: Donnarumma; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Pacho, Mendes; F.Ruiz, Vitinha, J.Neves; Doué, Barcola, Kvaratskhelia.
Subs: Tenas, Safonov, Beraldo, Ramos, Dembélé, Lee, Hernández, Mayulu, Zaïre-Emery, Kamara, Mbaye.
Inter Miami: Ustari; Weigandt, Falcon, Allen, Alba; Allende, F.Redondo, Busquets, Segovia; Messi, Suárez.
Subs: Yarbrough, Novo, Aviles, Picault, Rodríguez, D.Martínez, Sailor, Afonso, Obando, Cremaschi, Morales.
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Preamble
The Club World Cup has reached its business stage. Saturday provided the first two last 16 ties, with Palmeiras winning the battle of Brazil, defeating the the South American champions Botafogo, while Chelsea overpowered Benfica. No doubt the Fifa suits will be licking their lips at the thought of this next last 16 encounter… it’s the Champions League winners against the Team Lionel Messi Plays For. Paris Saint-Germain versus Inter Miami.
In fairness, there’s no shortage of narrative for this one in Atlanta, given it’s Messi against his former employers – the team at which he never looked or felt particularly comfortable – and against his former Barcelona manager, Luis Enrique. Inter Miami have a good few others of an ex Barça persuasion, too. You may not give them a prayer and that may prove justified, but hey this could be lots of fun!
You suspect the team that beats PSG might become team that wins the Club World Cup. Let’s see what the MLS outfit can do to nullify Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Ousmane Dembélé et al. Dembélé is expected to feature, most likely from the bench, after missing the CWC group stage with injury.
Kick off is at 5pm (BST), which is midday local time in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
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