⚽ All eyes on the Club World Cup: Mark your calendars from here on out until Sunday, 13 July as we cover all things Club World Cup — from major events to all matches held throughout the 32-team US-hosted tournament. At the moment, the topic de jour is the opening match, which was held in the early hours of the day and saw Al Ahly face Inter Miami.

We’re seeing double…zeros. Al Ahly failed to score the first three points in the tournament against the star-studded Inter Miami — bolstered by former Barcelona stars Messi, Suárez, and Busquets. The Hard Rock Stadium-hosted game in Miami, Florida, ended with a scoreless draw.

The odds were in Al Ahly’s favor, but Oscar Ustari happened to stand in their way. While Al Ahly dominated the first half of the match and created numerous clear-cut opportunities to score, Inter Milan’s goalkeeper, Ustari, had other plans. Ustari capped off his efforts by saving Trezeguet's penalty kick just before the end of the half, earning his status as the match’s MVP.

Al Ahly and Inter Miami walk away with one point each and 1 USD mn in tow. This puts both teams in the temporary lead of Group A, until the match between Brazil’s Palmeiras and Portugal’s Porto concludes, which is scheduled for 1am tomorrow.

In addition to losing out on two extra points, Al Ahly lost its star, Emam Ashour. Ashour left the match in tears less than 15 minutes following kickoff, after suffering an injury that was later revealed to be a broken clavicle — blocking him from participating in the tournament.

Al Ahly’s next opponent is none other than Palmeiras. The match will take place on Thursday, 19 June at 7pm, and will be followed by Inter Miami and Porto’s faceoff at 10pm.

Matches we’re following tonight:

  • Bayern Munich faces New Zealand’s Auckland City tonight at 7pm in the opening game of Group C. This group also includes Portugal's SL Benfica and Argentine’s Boca Juniors.
  • Stakes are high as Paris Saint-Germain and Atlético de Madrid face off in the first game of Group B tonight at 10pm. Group B also includes Brazil’s Botafogo and the US Seattle Sounders.
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