That's it, it's started. We don't really know where all this leads us, but the club World Cup at 32 teams, the new baby of Gianni Infantino, began on Saturday evening in Florida with the meeting between the Inter Miami of Lionel Messi and the Egyptian club of Al-Ahly.
For FIFA and especially its president, the stakes are high. And the whole goal is to give above all a good image. We feared the worst in terms of crowds, since the tickets took time to sell. But by breaking the prices, FIFA has managed to fit more than 60,000 people in the hard rock Stadium, which can contain about 65,000. With in addition supporters of the two camps, and a fairly festive atmosphere, the contract is filled from this point of view.
For the rest, we understand that FIFA wants to do their maximum to sell its product. After having signed an XXL contract with Dazn, which will broadcast the competition for free worldwide, the body led by Gianni Infantino tests new things, such as the players' entry (with Messi it works) or the camera placed on the referee's chest, which gives a little seasick but makes it possible to judge certain actions from another angle.
Club World Cup, a 0-0 to start
And football, by the way? The match made it possible to see that Al-Ahly was undoubtedly a much better football team than this Inter Miami. The first period was one -sided, but the Egyptians stopped on Floridian goalkeeper Oscar Ustari, who notably pushed a penalty from the aptly named Mahmoud Trezeguet (43rd). Lionel Messi and his family showed a better face on the return from the locker room, but without being able to score the first goal of the competition.
The continuation is for this Sunday with first a new duel between Bayern Munich and the New Zealanders of Auckland City (6 p.m.). In the process, there will be this strange Atlético de Madrid-Paris Saint Germain, the first match of Luis Enrique's men since the Champions League final, whose kick-off at 12 noon, Los Angeles (9 p.m. in France), asks a few questions.
