A little bit of Messi, the whole world has to look up

Inter Miami are not welcome at the Club World Cup, but Messi is. At 37, he is still the centerpiece, still deciding matches, and still making the entire football world silently watch every last remaining touch of a living legend.

Messi is still the center of attention.

Inter Miami do not deserve to be in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup™ - that's a given. They were "sneaked in" under FIFA Article 14, as a way to legitimize their Supporters' Shield title, which carries little weight on a global scale.

Messi is Inter Miami's priceless gift

No one thought the team had the stature or the track record to compete in the arena reserved for true champions. But strangely enough, that very absurdity created a blessing: it brought Lionel Messi to the tournament, and that alone was reason enough to fill every seat.

And Messi, as if to repay that "unwilling" presence, once again stepped onto the stage with the demeanor of a master.

The 2-1 win over Porto in the early morning of June 20 was the first time Inter Miami really made their mark at the Club World Cup. After a lackluster draw with Al Ahly, the American team was considered an "outsider" in a group they should not have been in.

But Messi changed everything. He not only scored the only goal that won the match - but did so with his usual weapon: a delicate free-kick, after a foul on himself.

Messi scored in Inter Miami's 2-1 win over Porto.

It is worth noting that this foul, according to the "original" rules of football, was considered an indirect foul. In the past, blocking a player without the ball was an act that was rarely punished seriously. But because modern referees are no longer interested in indirect fouls, the law was changed - now any obstruction involving contact is a direct foul.

The problem is: what tackle doesn’t involve contact? What striker chases the ball without hitting the blocker in front of him? As a result, most tackles are now flagged directly, except… in the penalty area. There, similar fouls suddenly “disappear”, are easily overlooked, as if the rule doesn’t exist. We’ve all seen it happen in every corner kick.

But let's leave the rules and referees aside. Back to the most important thing: Messi.

He is no longer the superhero who dominates every match. He is no longer the player who touches the ball more than a hundred times every 90 minutes, dribbles past three or four defenders in the blink of an eye, or scores a hat-trick from nowhere.

But today Messi was the perfect embodiment of “less is more”. He appeared in unexpected places, watching from afar as if he were an outsider – then suddenly unleashed a touch that disintegrated the entire defense.

Messi is not over yet.

Coach Jose Luis Mendilibar once compared Messi to a skilled driver: he knows when to park the car in the right place, choose a safe zone in the “number 8 corridor”, temporarily hide himself, and then control the entire rhythm of the match. He is like a stage director - he doesn’t need to appear constantly, but every time he makes a move, the whole play must follow.

A very different Messi, but still worth the wait

We are witnessing a different Messi - calm, experienced, and coldly precise. A Messi with nothing left to prove, but still playing as if he is putting something into every move.

And that leads fans to a very real question: Will Messi still be at the 2026 World Cup? Looking at the way he played today, why not? His fitness is still stable, his skills have never faded, and most importantly: his desire is still there.

And Cristiano Ronaldo? He was absent from the Club World Cup, but he is still a mainstay in the Portuguese national team, still scoring goals, still having an influence.

Perhaps, football is not in a hurry to end the Messi - Ronaldo era. And in a tournament where the presence of Inter Miami is the thing that makes people doubt the most, Messi himself is the reason why everyone temporarily forgets the shortcomings.

No one complains when Messi steps up to take a free kick. No one protests when the stadium erupts after a goal. And no one wants the Club World Cup to end while Messi is still playing.

The tournament may not have reached the level that FIFA hoped for. But if there is one reason people are still turning on the TV, buying tickets, and talking about it - it is Messi.

A little bit of Messi is enough to make the entire football world stop and look up. And thanks to Inter Miami's "rule-bending" we have a few more matches to enjoy it.

An unexpected, but priceless gift.

Source: https://znews.vn/mot-chut-messi-ca-the-gioi-phai-nguoc-nhin-post1562357.html