By Official Florida FC
Inter Miami will play Paris Saint Germain in the Round of 16 of the FIFA Club World Cup.
The Herons will play a competitive match against the reigning UEFA Champions League holders. That statement sounds preposterous, but it’s true. Inter Miami will play PSG in Atlanta at high noon on Sunday.
Inter Miami was undefeated in the group stage. Its 2-2 draw with Brazilian side Palmeiras on Monday night in South Florida was enough to send the Herons to the second round of the 32-team tournament.
Inter Miami is the only MLS team to advance out of the group stage.
LAFC scored one goal in three matches. Meanwhile, the Seattle Sounders trailed for 206 of a possible 270 minutes during the group stage en route to losing all three matches.
The Club World Cup has been derided as a shameless money grab from FIFA. Its also paired a team from South Florida against the most successful club from Africa, the most successful Brazilian club and a two-time European champion.
Major League Soccer officials have to be salivating at the chance for one of its clubs to compete against PSG in a competitive environment.
“Now, despite the fact that we’re facing arguably the best team in Europe, the Champions League winners, we’ll try to approach it with the same humility, the same seriousness, and try to put on a great performance and see what our chances are,” Inter Miami head coach Javier Mascherano said after the Palmeiras result. “If there’s one thing this sport has shown us, it’s that anything can happen in a match.”
The last 16 will also feature teams from Brazil, Saudi Arabia and Mexico. In all, nine of the teams that advanced to the knockout stage are European.
