Lionel Messi will face his former side, Paris Saint-Germain, in the Round of 16 of the FIFA Club World Cup this weekend.

Messi's Inter Miami played out to a two-all draw against Brazilian side Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras in their last group game on Tuesday morning to qualify as Group A runners-up.

Messi didn't impact the game as expected, but his longtime friend and strike partner, Luis Suarez, came to the fore at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.

Suarez set up Tadeo Allende for the opening goal in the 16th minute. The Celta Vigo loanee bore down on goal before slotting calmly past Weverton in the Palmeiras goal.

In the second half, Suarez skipped past a few challenges before unleashing a ferocious shot that Weverton could do nothing about.

Palmeiras, however, clawed their way back in the game with goals from Paulinho and Mauricio, enough to reclaim top spot.

The effect of Palmeiras drawing the game meant that Inter Miami qualified as the runners-up and, in turn, set up a clash against PSG in the Round of 16.

Palmeiras won the group and will face fellow Brazilian side Botafogo.

PSG came into this tournament on the back of winning their first-ever Champions League title after beating Inter Milan 5-0 in the final.

They thrashed Atletico Madrid in their opening game but surprisingly fell to Botafogo in their second game.

Luis Enrique's side bounced back to beat Seattle Sounders 2-0 in the last game to win Group B.

This will be the first time Messi will play against PSG since leaving the club in 2023. The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner moved to France in 2021 after Barcelona, incredibly, couldn't renew his contract.

He teamed up with Kylian Mbappe and Neymar to form one of Europe's most devastating attacks on paper, but one that failed to deliver in the big games.

Messi featured 75 times under Mauricio Pochettino, scoring 32 goals and providing 35 assists, but couldn't win the Champions League for the Parisians.

Despite his underwhelming time in France, Messi 'completed football' by winning the World Cup with Argentina during his spell at PSG.

The former Barcelona captain admitted that he wasn't happy at PSG and felt Inter Miami offered him a way out.

"I wasn't happy on a daily basis, with the training, the matches. I had a hard time adapting to all that. I felt called to come to Inter [Miami] because it's a club that's growing, very new, with few years as a club," he said in an interview with Apple Music's Zane Lowe.

In a related report, North Korea blurred Lee Kang-In's goal vs Atletico Madrid at the Club World Cup.

The South Korean scored a penalty deep in stoppage time to complete the 4-0 win over the Spanish side.

The game was shown four days later in North Korea with the national broadcaster blurring out the player's face and number.

Source: TUKO.co.ke