Article by Aurelian Botezatu – published on Friday, June 20, 2025, 08:25 / Updated on Friday, June 20, 2025 08:25
The captain of Argentina, Lionel Messi, brought him the victory of Inter Miami in the match with FC Porto (2-1), from a free kick.
- 32 teams, distributed in eight groups, participate in the World Club Championship;
- The first two teams in each group qualify in “optimals”;
- The final takes place in New York, on July 13, at 10:00 pm.
Inter Miami had entered the break with 0-1 on the table, after the penalty goal scored by Samu Aghehowa in the beginning of the match (min. 7). But he replied strongly after the resumption. First through Segovia (47), then through Lionel Messi, who flawlessly transformed a free kick (54).
Lionel Messi has reached 68 goals in the free kick!
Asked at the end how he managed to defeat the goalkeeper Claudio Ramos, Messi explained: “I saw that the goalkeeper was sitting in the middle, I saw that it would be hard to get over the wall, so I took advantage of the space he left and that was everything.”
The Argentinian is in the 68th goal of a free kick in his career, the 5th for Inter Miami. Interestingly, Leo's “direct” goals for Americans have always been driving.
Lionel Messi, at 9 goals by Juninho Pernambucano's record
With this success, he is at 9 goals to become the best free -hit scorer in history! The record is held by Juninho Pernambucano, with 77 successes of such executions, followed by Pele (70 goals). Overall, Messi has reached 50 goals in the account of the Miami group and 893 goals in 1,160 clubs and national team!
About the match, the Argentinian said that “the whole team made an extraordinary effort. Not only did we defend ourselves well, but we also had a good ball control. We stayed with a bitter taste after the first match, because I could win. FC Porto had opportunities, received a penalty, but I reacted. It is a very important victory.”
Lionel Messi: “We are not favorite, but we have our weapons”
Messi admits that Inter Miami is not among the favorites at this club World Cup, but claims that he will be beaten to reach the competition as far as possible. “We see that we want to get far, we played against a very good European team.
It is a very special competition, I played well. We have young players who are for the first time in a competition like this. We will try to go as far as possible, to play our game. We are not favorite, but we have our weapons. Against Palmeiras will be very complicated ”.
Group A ranking from the club world
