ATLANTA — Inter Miami head coach Javier Mascherano said his team needs to play a near-perfect match against Paris Saint-Germain in the Club World Cup round of 16 on Sunday, admitting the MLS outfit enters the contest as the weaker side.
PSG arrived at the Club World World Cup in the United States fresh from winning its first UEFA Champions League title, with a 5-0 demolition of Inter Milan in the final.
“It’s clear and we’re not naive, we know that we’re the weaker team around the time of the match, that’s clear, but that doesn’t mean you can kill us off beforehand. We’re going to fight, which is what it’s all about,” said Mascherano on Saturday.
“I think the most important thing for tomorrow is for us to put on the best performance we can, to be able to compete against not only an opponent with enormous hierarchy, but a team that has also shown us that in some ways it’s not a perfect team; there’s no such thing as a perfect team, and they can be hurt. We have to find a way to take advantage.”
Inter Miami qualified for the knockout round after recording two draws and one victory against FC Porto to emerge in second place from Group A. Now, the team insists they face one of their biggest challenges yet and must do so without errors.
“We’re clear that we’re facing the best team at the moment, so we have to play a near-perfect match,” said midfielder Federico Redondo. “They’re a team that if you create space inside, they attack inside, if you create space outside, they attack outside. They have unbalancing players, one-on-one, they link up.”
Despite the obstacles presented by PSG, Mascherano insists Inter Miami holds the tools necessary in Lionel Messi and the rest of the squad to compete against the world’s best.
“There’s the obvious differences in hierarchy. But we’ve done everything right, and I’ll repeat that. The most important thing is that tomorrow is not over yet, and I’m not going to hesitate to analyze what the team has done today. I want to believe we still have the chance to continue participating in this competition, and I think we have to focus our energies on tomorrow’s game,” he said.
“Leo’s best message isn’t his words, but what he does on the pitch and how far he’s brought us. In the end, you saw him the other day with Palmeiras, where he had arrived physically just fine, and he gave us an impressive 95 minutes competing, setting the pace for his teammates. After that, as far as the issue of words goes, he’ll know how to guide, especially the younger players, the players with less experience.”
Messi spent two seasons at PSG before joining Miami and has been open about not enjoying his time at the Parisian club.
But Mascherano refused to be drawn on whether the Argentine great will have added focus when he faces one of his former teams for the first time in his career.
“The reality is that everything revolving around Leo clearly generates a lot of exposure,” he said. “We, as Argentinians, know what’s been generated since the World Cup and all this history. The most important thing is that Leo is doing well, Leo plays for us, that’s what makes us feel more at ease.”
The winner of Sunday’s match will go on to face the winner of the round of 16 game between Bayern Munich and Flamengo.
