The French superstar was taken to hospital on Thursday for tests and treatment after suffering gastroenteritis, before later being released.
Veteran playmaker Messi curled home a fine free-kick in a man-of-the-match performance in Atlanta, the winning goal in Miami's 2-1 Group A victory over their Portuguese opponents.
Coach Pep Guardiola used this occasion to field something of an experimental line-up.
New head coach Xabi Alonso will make his debut on the Real bench for the Group H match at Hard Rock Stadium and could be without several regulars.
Argentine striker Lautaro Martinez scored a well-worked equaliser to cancel out Sergio Ramos's opener for Monterrey in a hard-fought tussle in front of 40,311 fans at the Rose Bowl.
The UEFA Conference League winners defeated Los Angeles FC 2-0 at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta with only 22,000 fans present at the 71,000-capacity arena.
FIFA controversially awarded Lionel Messi's Inter Miami a backdoor route into the tournament, ensuring the sport’s biggest name would be there after he propelled soccer to new heights in a country often ambivalent to the world’s most popular game.
At the heart of the Club World Cup lies this improbable meeting of worlds.
The 32-year-old was unable to get a flight to join his Inter team-mates in Los Angeles due to the ongoing confrontation between Iran and Israel.
The French superstar was taken to hospital on Thursday for tests and treatment after suffering gastroenteritis, before later being released.
Veteran playmaker Messi curled home a fine free-kick in a man-of-the-match performance in Atlanta, the winning goal in Miami's 2-1 Group A victory over their Portuguese opponents.
Coach Pep Guardiola used this occasion to field something of an experimental line-up.
New head coach Xabi Alonso will make his debut on the Real bench for the Group H match at Hard Rock Stadium and could be without several regulars.
Argentine striker Lautaro Martinez scored a well-worked equaliser to cancel out Sergio Ramos's opener for Monterrey in a hard-fought tussle in front of 40,311 fans at the Rose Bowl.
The UEFA Conference League winners defeated Los Angeles FC 2-0 at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta with only 22,000 fans present at the 71,000-capacity arena.
FIFA controversially awarded Lionel Messi's Inter Miami a backdoor route into the tournament, ensuring the sport’s biggest name would be there after he propelled soccer to new heights in a country often ambivalent to the world’s most popular game.
At the heart of the Club World Cup lies this improbable meeting of worlds.
The 32-year-old was unable to get a flight to join his Inter team-mates in Los Angeles due to the ongoing confrontation between Iran and Israel.
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.
