SportsNews
Are Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami headed for Club World Cup humiliation? ‘Frustration is evident’
It’s just over a month until Lionel Messi‘s Inter Miami kick off the FIFA’s shiny new expanded Club World Cup, but on current form they look a million miles off challenging world football’s best and brightest.
Pressure is growing on Messi’s old pal Javier Mascherano, who has just overseen Inter Miami’s worst defeat of the Messi era.
Messi scored to end a rare four-match goalless streak in Saturday’s clash with Minnesota United, but it was a mere consolation in a humbling 4-1 loss.
Before kick-off, Minnesota United’s fans unfurled a banner that read: ‘History Over Hype, Culture Over Cash’.
And the message was vindicated by the chasm between the two teams on the day.
But it’s only recently that Inter Miami have begun to resemble the worst excesses of Galacticos-era Real Madrid, a dysfunctional vanity project that struggles to get their superstar cogs clicking.
Last season they were the best team in the regular MLS season, winning the Supporters’ Shield after providing a solid foundation for their eight-time Ballon d’Or winner to make a match-winning difference.
A record of 44 goals and 21 assists from just 54 appearances is testament not only to Messi’s quality, but his team’s ability to get him firing.
Mascherano himself has admitted that Inter Miami have been dependent on their biggest star.
“Teams have been dependent on Messi,” the Miami boss told reporters earlier this month.
“[Pep] Guardiola’s Barcelona was dependent for years, Luis Enrique’s Barcelona, Valverde’s Barcelona, and the Argentina national team for 15 or 20 years.
“In other words, when you have a player like Messi, you’re clearly going to develop a dependency on him. It’s impossible not to depend on him.
“It’s clear that there are days when the team perhaps helps him more and other days when it helps him less.”
Messi’s latest goal almost looked too easy as he once again combined with his old Barcelona team-mate Jordi Alba. But we’ve seen less and less of that in recent weeks.
“I was in the stadium for Inter Miami vs NYRB and Messi’s frustration with his teammates was evident,” noted ESPN pundit Hercules Gomez.
“Things are quickly coming to a head.
“If (Messi) gives it to one of Messi’s friends — (Jordi) Alba, (Sergio) Busquets, Luis Suarez — he knows there’s the capacity to return that play to him.
“There’s a little more purpose and effort to the run. A lot of times when he gives it to another player, he waits. Because he knows, that’s probably not going to get there… You can see Messi frustrated.”
Inter Miami recently lost in the semi-finals of the CONCACAF Champions Cup home and away – 5-1 on aggregate – to a Vancouver Whitecaps side that finished a distant midtable in last season’s MLS Western Conference standings.
It’s North America’s equivalent to the Champions League and one of the few pieces of silverware that eludes Messi. Elimination in such an emphatic manner must have stung.
Domestic matters aren’t going a whole lot better. After a promising start to the season, they’ve fallen to fourth in the Eastern Conference table after winning just two of their last six MLS outings.
“Leo is a competitive beast – it’s normal,” Mascherano told the media following the latest defeat.
“Those of us who’ve known him for a long time understand how demanding he is, not only with himself but also with those around him.”
It’s still relatively early days in the 2025 campaign and there’s every chance that Miami can turn things around and end up lifting the MLS Cup come December. It’s clear, though, that work needs to be done – and reinforcements may be required.
“I think we need to focus on bringing in someone who truly strengthens us as a team. And yes, I’m exploring options,” Mascherano said.
“Well, to be more precise, the club is evaluating options – especially in the attacking front.”
Inter Miami begin the Club World Cup with a relatively forgiving fixture against Egyptian outfit Al Ahly FC. Brazilian giants Palmeiras and Portuguese side Porto make up the four-team group, from which they can harbour realistic ambitions of getting through to set up a glamour tie in the knockout stages.
But things aren’t clicking for Miami right now and the nature of their latest MLS defeat raises serious questions over whether Mascherano can avoid humiliation on the biggest stage of all.
Alex Iwobi says Fulham must stay positive despite their 5-4 defeat to Manchester City at Craven Cottage on Tuesday.
Marco Silva’s side put up a spirited display in the encounter, and were unlucky not to get at least one point.
Iwobi started the fight back by scoring the second goal for Fulham early in the second half.
The versatile midfielder’s compatriot, Samuel Chukwueze then rose from the bench to score two more goals for the Cottagers.
Manchester City, however, held on to go home with maximum points.
Iwobi stated that they deserved more from the game.
“I feel disappointed because we didn’t get anything out of the fighting spirit that we showed, but I think we have to take the positivity from the game,” Iwobi told the club’s official website.
Fulham will be away to Crystal Palace in their next Premier League game on Sunday.
Manchester City boss, Pep Guardiola has named the Premier League club that has impressed him so much this season.
The Spaniard said that Enzo Maresca’s side have really impressed him with the improvement they make everyday.
Speaking after Manchester City beat Fulham 5-4 in the Premier League on Tuesday night, Guardiola pointed out that a team must remain consistent to win the title.
Pep Guardiola’s side closed the gap at the top of the Premier League to just two points behind Arsenal with the victory over Fulham, but the Gunners could maintain their five points lead with a win over Brentford on Wednesday night.
“Chelsea impresses me more and more every day with Enzo [Maresca], but it’s long,” he told reporters after the win.
“Premier League is so long, many things will happen. We won six Premier Leagues, four or five when we in December, January or February we were behind.
“The team who wins the Premier League is the team who grows during the months and this is what we try to do. No injuries, it’s so long.
“But at the same time, if we push, we will be better and push ourselves and control the situations better, the emotions and we will see what happens.”
The 2025 World’s Strongest Woman final has sparked outrage after an alleged transgender athlete won gold.
American Jammie Booker, who is accused of being a biological male, beat Great Britain’s Andrea Thompson to victory at the event in Arlington, Texas.
According to Mail Online, Thompson walked off the podium, appearing to say ‘this is bulls***,’ while Booker celebrated. The Brit has since been crowned the ‘true World’s Strongest Woman’ by her coach and some of her peers.
Rebecca Roberts, a three-time winner of World’s Strongest Woman, has sensationally claimed that no one – not even the organizers – knew about Booker’s background.
Details on the American are not clear, but the publication sighted a YouTube video – uploaded to what appears to be Booker’s YouTube channel in September 2017, with Booker saying: ‘Everyone is dying to tell their own story and I am obviously no exception to that.
‘I’m 21-year-old trans woman with a history of abuse, struggling to stay true to herself while under the rule of her religious parents.’
On Monday night, Roberts posted a picture on Instagram that read ‘Protect Women’s Sports.’ She wrote alongside the picture: ‘I hold no hate toward transgender people. Everyone deserves dignity, respect, and the freedom to live their truth.
But I cannot stay silent about something that threatens the fairness and future of women’s strength sports. Transgender women, people born male, should not be competing in the women’s category.
This isn’t about identity. It isn’t about politics. It’s about the undeniable physical differences that exist in strength-based sports… differences that don’t disappear, and that matter more here than almost anywhere else. Women’s categories were created for a reason, and if we lose that, we lose the foundation of our sport.
‘What happened this weekend wasn’t transparent. None of us knew. Not even the organisers knew. And when fairness is taken by surprise, trust in the sport begins to crack.
‘My message is simple. Trans people belong in sport, but women’s divisions must remain biologically born female-only.
‘I love this sport. I have given my life to it. And I won’t ignore something that could quietly change it forever. Congratulations to @andreathompson_strongwoman… the true World’s Strongest Woman 2025’
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