Inter Miami 0-4 PSG: European champion's exhibition to advance to quarterfinals

The Club World Cup already has three of the eight quarter-finalists defined. After the victories of Palmeiras and Chelsea in extra time against Botafogo and Benfica, Paris Saint-Germain achieved a comfortable victory against Inter Miami (0-4) to confirm their status as favorites in the tournament organized by FIFA.

The current European champion defined their qualification with a perfect first half in Atlanta, in which they scored four goals. The defensive errors of the pink team, together with the lack of depth of an XI led by Leo Messi and Luis Suárez, made the difference in favor of the Gauls.

Related

Benfica 1-4 Chelsea: thrashing and 'blue' qualification in an endless match

PSG secured their qualification with a great first half

It only took PSG 5 minutes to open the scoring. A free kick from Vitinha from the left side found Joao Neves unmarked, who appeared alone on the right to head past goalkeeper Ustari. There was an offside position of Fabián Ruiz in the action, but the VAR interpreted the Spaniard's position as passive.

Fabián himself made it 2-0 in the 15th minute, but this time his offside was much more evident and the goal was disallowed. However, the Parisian monologue was total and, in the 39th minute, the goal that settled the match arrived.

A steal by Fabián from Sergio Busquets set up a lethal counter-attack for Paris. Barcolá received from Ruiz and he passed to Joao Neves, who finished at will to complete his double. Before the break, Tomás Avilés (own goal) made it 0-3 and, in added time, Achraf Hakimi closed the scoring after picking up a previous rebound off the crossbar.

The result in the first half admitted no discussion. Inter barely passed into the rival field a handful of times, without even taking a shot in the first 45 minutes. Paris, although they took advantage of defensive errors from the opponent to score, also wasted multiple clear chances.

• 👉 You can follow the coverage of the 2025 Club World Cup in detail at FCBN

Paris awaits Bayern or Flamengo in the quarterfinals: will there be a surprise?

In the second half, Luis Enrique's team took their foot off the accelerator, giving minutes to Ousmane Dembélé and other usual substitutes. The 'Mosquito' was only able to debut in the tournament, after being injured in the 'semis' of the Nations League with France.

Miami sought a discount, prompting some intervention from Gianluigi Donnarumma in the final stretch. In the end, the result remained and PSG, with the same score with which they debuted two weeks ago against Atlético, is already in the quarterfinals.

Now, the Gauls await Bayern Munich or Flamengo, who will define the fourth qualifier for the round of the best eight later (21:00 CEST). These teams go on the 'side of death' of the bracket, where Real Madrid and Juventus are also, in addition to Borussia Dortmund and Monterrey.

In case of overcoming the quarter-final stage, Paris could face Real Madrid in the semi-finals. On the other side of the bracket, Palmeiras and Chelsea will face each other in the next phase, while Inter Milan and Manchester City are clear favorites to overcome Fluminense and Al-Hilal, respectively.