Al Ahly comes out of Egypt having qualified after winning the CAF Champions League in 2020-21. This is the club’s 10th trip to the CWC, and fourth year in a row. Al Ahly has finished third in three of the last four tournaments.

Lionel Messi twice came close to scoring the winning goal in an lively opening to FIFA’s newly expanded Club World Cup as Al Ahly and Inter Miami delivered a 0-0 draw that was mixed in quality but full of action and ultimately watched by a bumper crowd at the Hard Rock Stadium.