Jordi Alba is relishing the prospect of facing his former Barcelona boss Luis Enrique when Inter Miami take on Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16 of the Club World Cup.
Miami appeared to be cruising to top spot in Group A – and a meeting with Botafogo – when goals from Tadeo Allende and Luis Suarez put them in command against Palmeiras at Hard Rock Stadium last night.
But Paulinho pulled one back with 10 minutes to go before Mauricio struck an 87th minute equaliser.
That meant Palmeiras and Botafogo will meet in an all-Brazilian clash while Miami have the unenviable job of meeting European champions PSG.
Round of 16. Dialed in. Vamos Miami 💗🖤
We will face @PSG_inside in the next round of the @FIFACWC ✨ pic.twitter.com/0K55iC6pkD
— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) June 24, 2025
Barcelona old boys to reunite
Alba, along with Suarez, Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets and Miami boss Javier Mascherano, all worked under Luis Enrique at Camp Nou and the left-back is looking forward to Sunday’s reunion in Atlanta.
“For me, he’s the best,” Alba said. “I think not only as a coach but also as a team manager. For me, they’re phenomenal. I’m also looking forward to seeing Rafel Pol, Joaquín Valdés, all their staff, and the players who play with them at Barcelona.
“It’s 90 minutes, and well, I think we should be proud of how we’ve competed in these three games. Now, let’s compete against PSG.”
Miami are the only MLS team to progress beyond the group stage but Alba accepts it will be difficult to get past a PSG side that hammered Inter Milan 5-0 in the Champions League final last month.
It will also be the first time Messi will have faced the Ligue 1 giants since he left the Parc des Princes in 2023.
“I’m proud of the team, and now we’re competing against a top team like PSG,” Alba said. “It’s great. For me, they’re playing the best football in Europe, and well, it’s obviously a very difficult match, but we’re going to try to compete.
“Why not dream of beating the European champion? It will be very difficult. We know the quality of all the players, and for me, Luis Enrique is the best coach in the world. I know him very well.
“This is football, and it’s 90-something minutes, and well, why not dream?
“They’re [PSG] the ones who play the best football today. They’re very versatile, with very good wide players, and guys in midfield who have the ball. Overall, they’re the most complete team, for me. We’ll see how far we can go and try to compete.”
Suarez wanted Botafogo, not Barca
Alba may be excited at the prospect of meeting PSG but Suarez was irritated that Miami had let slip the chance to face Botafogo instead.
The Uruguayan said: “We had it all there. For a moment, we already saw ourselves playing against Botafogo, but football is like this. You lose focus for 15 seconds, 30 seconds, and you pay dearly for it.
“We know it’s going to be very difficult, very complicated, but we have the tools we need to compete.”
