Al Ahly midfielder Emam Ashour will miss the remainder of the 2025 Club World Cup after scans confirmed he had suffered a broken collarbone, the Egyptian club announced on Sunday.

Ashour left the opening match of the revamped competition against Inter Miami, which ended in a goalless draw, in tears after injuring his shoulder.

“Medical examinations on Emam Ashour in a Miami hospital showed he sustained a broken collarbone, and he will miss the remaining matches in the Club World Cup,” Al Ahly doctor Ahmed Gaballah said via the club’s account on X.

Ashour, who had previously suffered a serious shoulder injury while playing for the Egyptian national team in 2024, initially fell early in the game and received treatment on the sidelines before returning briefly and missing a one-on-one chance.

However, the 27-year-old Egyptian Premier League top scorer was unable to continue and asked to be substituted in the 14th minute, being replaced by Ahmed Sayed (Zizo).

-Reuters

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Lionel Messi drew vast crowds and showed flashes of his brilliance when his Inter Miami side were held to a goalless draw by African giants Al-Ahly as the revamped Club World Cup got off to a festive start on Saturday.

Fans showed up en masse for the Group A clash at the Hard Rock Stadium, home to the Miami Dolphins, but Messi could not fully deliver, his best chance coming through a last-second attempt that was deflected onto the crossbar.

Inter Miami next face FC Porto on Thursday in Atlanta while Al-Ahly, who benefited from raucous, massive support, will take on Palmeiras in New York, where more of their fans are expected to turn up.

No incidents were reported at the game after around 1,000 protesters gathered in the morning near U.S. President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, about 70 miles (110 km) north of Miami, waving placards and chanting slogans as part of coordinated nationwide “No Kings” demonstrations.

In Miami, 60,927 fans almost filled the 65,000-capacity stadium for Inter Miami’s clash with Al-Ahly dismissing, at least on the night, concerns about the attractiveness of the tournament featuring 32 teams for the first time, a year before the World Cup in the U.S.

Inter Miami, whose home attendances average 20,663 in their 21,550-seat Chase Stadium, have been a major road draw in 2025, regularly attracting record crowds across the country since Messi’s arrival in 2023.

Adan De La Rosa travelled from Mexico just to see Messi play. “There’s a lot of excitement to see Messi, it’s the same for everyone,” he said.

Al-Ahly, backed by dozens of thousands of fans, got off to a strong start but wasted two early chances and Oscar Ustari parried away Trezeguet’s poorly taken penalty kick after Zizo was fouled in the box by Telasco Segovia.

Messi threatened at times after spending some time on the ground after being hit on the knee, but Miami could feel lucky not to be behind at halftime.

Miami, however, stepped up a gear after the break, and Messi came close when his nicely curled 25-metre free kick kissed the post and hit the side netting.

With six minutes left, the World Cup winner scooped a perfect cross for Fafa Picault, whose header was tipped over the bar by Mohamed Elshenawy.

He came an inch close in the dying second when his curled strike from outside the box was tipped onto the bar by Elshenawy.

The Club World Cup continues on Sunday with Champions League winners Paris St Germain taking on Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich playing Auckland City.

–Reuters

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Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano was upbeat despite his Lionel Messi-led team drawing 0-0 with Egyptian side Al Ahly on June 14, as FIFA’s new 32-team Club World Cup got off to a smooth start in front of 60,927 fans in Florida.

Messi was denied a storybook stoppage-time winner when he saw his curling shot from 20 yards out tipped onto the bar by Mohamed El Shenawy as Miami piled on the pressure in the final minutes of the game.

“The truth is we leave with the feeling that we could have won it in the second half,” said Mascherano.

“Going forward we have to do what we did in the second half, not have any fear, shed whatever baggage we had because when we play like that, we can play even with any team.”

Al Ahly, who were cheered on by over 10,000 of their supporters, were left to rue a first-half penalty from Egypt international Trezeguet which was saved by Miami’s Argentine keeper Oscar Ustari.

But the Egyptians also had El Shenawy to thank for another fine save in the dying seconds to keep out a header from Maxi Falcon as Miami pushed for three points in the Group A clash.

For organisers FIFA, who have faced heavy skepticism over the necessity for the tournament, the absence of a goal was the only disappointment on a night that delivered everything else that their president Gianni Infantino had hoped for from the opening night.

Fears of a low crowd for the opener eased as the seats in the 64,000 venue began to fill up with the stadium almost full at kick-off time.

Thousands of fans of Al Ahly, record 12 times African Champions League winner and 45-time league champions of Egypt, arrived at Hard Rock Stadium well ahead of kick-off and made their presence felt with singing and chanting.

The stadium, home to the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, witnessed chaotic scenes last year at the final of the Copa America between Argentina and Colombia where fans broke into the ground after long delays to enter.

But there was an efficient filter system set up for ticket and security checks well away from the stadium perimeter and there were no signs of any problems.

Nor was there any indication of the controversial crackdown on illegal immigrants from US President Donald Trump’s administration having any impact on the game in the heavily Hispanic South Florida community.

While there were no goals to celebrate, the game was far from boring with Al Ahly enjoying the better of the first half before Miami improved significantly after the break.

Messi went close in the 64th minute with a free kick which grazed the post before hitting the side-netting, tricking part of the crowd into thinking he had scored.

He nearly did in stoppage time, after a well-worked short-corner but the outstretched finger tip of El Shenawy was to deny him.

Miami face Porto in Atlanta on June 19 before returning home to face Brazil’s Palmeiras on June 23.

Al Ahly’s Spanish coach Jose Riveiro, who only took charge of the team for this tournament, said his team should have finished the game off in the first half.

“It’s a game of mistakes. We had a decent amount of chances in the first half to put the game in a different space,” he said before praising the team’s fans.

“It was like we were playing in Cairo and that was a surprise for me in my first official match with Al Ahly. To be here in the States and have it like you were playing at home is something that can probably only happen in this club.”

-AFP

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