World
Messi scores hat-trick as Inter Miami enter Club World Cup 2025
Messi scores three and Suarez two as Inter Miami beat New England 6-2 to break the MLS regular season points record and seal a berth at the Club World Cup.
On-fire Lionel Messi scored his second hat-trick of the week and Luis Suarez scored twice as Inter Miami beat the New England Revolution 6-2 to smash Major League Soccer’s regular season points record and confirm their participation in the FIFA Club World Cup 2025.
Miami’s win in their final game of the regular season took them to 74 points – one more than the previous record, set by New England in 2021.
Messi, who came off the bench in the 58th minute and led the late flurry of goals, has now scored 20 goals in 19 appearances in MLS with his former Barcelona teammate Suarez also notching 20, from 27 games.
The challenge of breaking the record added some spice to the final game of the regular season with Inter having already secured the Supporters’ Shield for the best record in the regular season to stamp themselves as clear favourites in the MLS Cup playoffs which start next week.
Miami had trailed 2-0 until Suarez scored twice before half-time to help Gerardo Martino’s team level at the interval.
Goals from Argentinian Luca Langoni and Colombian Dylan Borrero in the 34th minute had the home crowd chanting for Messi’s introduction from the bench, but it was Uruguayan Suarez who began the comeback with a firm left-foot finish.
Then Suarez levelled with a fine solo finish, making space for himself and switching to his right foot before drilling home.
Messi, who had scored a hat-trick for Argentina against Bolivia on Tuesday, came off the bench in the 58th minute and immediately helped put the team ahead finding Jordi Alba, who set up Benjamin Cremaschi for a tap-in.
New England thought they had drawn level with a goal from striker Bobby Wood but the effort was disallowed for handball following a VAR review.
Messi then made it 4-2, collecting a back-heeled pass from Suarez before brilliantly blasting into the far bottom corner.
The Argentinian was on target again when he latched on to a superb pass from Jordi Alba and made no mistake, completing his hat-trick in the 89th minute when he met a volleyed cross from Suarez with a precise first-time finish.
Messi’s three goals came within 11 minutes, and after his two-month injury absence after the Copa America, he now looks back to his best.
At the post-game celebration of the Supporters Shield success, club co-owners David Beckham and Jorge Mas were joined by FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who announced that the Shield had earned the team a place in the 2025 Club World Cup.
Welcome to the #FIFACWC, @InterMiamiCF! 👋#TakeItToTheWorld pic.twitter.com/vCPQ7eNAxU
— FIFA Club World Cup (@FIFACWC) October 20, 2024
Club World Cup gets Messi boost
Miami will take the qualification slot designated for the host nation.
“Inter Miami qualifies as the host country representative team on the basis of the club’s outstanding and consistent 34-match campaign that saw them secure the shield with two MLS matches to play,” FIFA said in a statement.
The official champions of MLS are determined by the MLS Cup playoffs, which begin next week and conclude with the final on December 7.
Miami are the favourites to win the playoffs, but the FIFA decision to select the regular season winners ensures the involvement of the Argentinian superstar.
The participation of the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi is a much-needed boost to the profile of the new-look tournament, which FIFA hope will capture the imagination of the global television audience as well as fans in the United States before the World Cup in 2026.
The competition could pit Messi against top European club opposition for the first time since he left Paris Saint Germain last year to move to Miami.
The 32-team tournament will feature title-winning teams from each of FIFA’s continental confederations.
Players’ union FIFPRO and the European Leagues body filed a joint complaint to the European Commission against FIFA over the introduction of the tournament into the international match calendar.
Opponents of the new tournament have said it adds further congestion to an already crowded schedule and increases the workload of players.
World
Pakistan calls troops, orders 3-day curfew as 24 killed in pro-Iran rallies
Army deployed and some areas in northern Gilgit-Baltistan region put under curfew after deadly violence over Khamenei’s killing.
Published On 2 Mar 2026
Pakistan has called in the military and imposed a three-day curfew in some areas following deadly protests over the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a joint United States-Israeli attack on Saturday.
At least 24 people were killed and dozens injured in clashes between protesters and security forces across the country on Sunday, prompting authorities to tighten security around the US embassy and consulates.
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The curfew was imposed before dawn Monday in the districts of Gilgit, Skurdu, and Shigar in the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region, where at least 12 protesters and one security officer were killed and dozens of others wounded during confrontations, according to an official statement.
Of those, seven were killed in Gilgit, a rescue official said, while six others died in Skardu, a doctor told AFP news agency on Monday.
Thousands of demonstrators on Sunday attacked the offices of the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP), which monitors the ceasefire along the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, and the UN Development Programme in Skardu city.
Protesters also burned a police station and damaged a school and the offices of a local charity in Gilgit, according to officials.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric on Monday said protesters became violent near the UNMOGIP Field Station, which was vandalised.
“The safety and security of UN personnel and premises throughout the region remain our top priority, and we continue to closely monitor the situation,” Dujarric said.
Shabir Mir, a Gilgit-Baltistan government spokesman, said the situation was under control and that the curfew would remain in place until Wednesday. Police chief Akbar Nasir Khan urged residents to stay indoors, citing “deteriorating law and order conditions”.
In the southern port city of Karachi, the country’s commercial hub, 10 people were killed and more than 60 injured during a protest outside the US consulate.
Two additional protesters were killed in the capital, Islamabad, while heading towards the US embassy.
Pakistani authorities have beefed up security at US diplomatic missions across the country, including around the US consulate building in Peshawar, to avoid any further violence.
The US embassy and its consulates in Karachi and Lahore cancelled visa appointments and American Citizen Services on Monday, citing security concerns.
The federal government warned that the situation could further deteriorate amid large-scale demonstrations condemning Khamenei’s killing on Saturday.
Tehran has responded with a series of drone and missile attacks targeting Israel and US assets in several Gulf countries.
World
Investors brace for a bigger backlash from Middle East war
World
Tel Aviv analyst shelters from 30 missile sirens in 48 hours, says Iran ‘won’t recover’
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The past 48 hours in Tel Aviv have been unlike anything seen before, a leading security analyst has said, as sirens blared amid missile threats following Operation Epic Fury and U.S.-Israeli strikes in Iran.
“We are facing a biblical event — nothing less,” Kobi Michael, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies and the Misgav Institute, told Fox News Digital, speaking from his shelter in the city.
Like many Israelis, Michael said he had spent hours in reinforced rooms during the ongoing barrage, adding that he was “very experienced in this.”
“But this all requires time and determination, and I do hope that Trump will also have them both,” he said, speaking shortly after the president released a video message stating that the military operation would continue “until all of our objectives are achieved.”
Explosions from projectile interceptions by Israel’s Iron Dome missile defence system over Tel Aviv. (JACK GUEZ / AFP via Getty Images)
“Trump is the only one who can make the change — and that change will impact the entire region and the international order for years to come,” Michael added.
As of Sunday, Tel Aviv remained under a state of emergency following Iranian missile attacks that caused casualties and widespread damage.
According to The Associated Press, Iranian missile and drone strikes have killed approximately 11 Israeli civilians and wounded dozens more in retaliation for the U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran.
Shrapnel from missile impacts damaged at least 40 buildings in Tel Aviv, and authorities reported at least one death in the area from falling debris.
The Philippine Embassy in Israel confirmed the death of a Filipino national after a missile strike hit Tel Aviv on Saturday.
TOMAHAWKS, B-2 STEALTH BOMBERS AND ATTACK DRONES POUND OVER 1,000 IRANIAN TARGETS IN 24-HOUR BLITZ
People take shelter as Iran launched missiles and drones towards Israel following the US-Israeli attacks. ( Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“We enter our shelter once the siren is heard and stay there until the Home Front Command announces that we can leave,” Michael said.
“Usually, it is about 20 to 30 minutes — unless there are further sirens during our stay. Since yesterday morning, it has happened around 30 times.”
Israel’s President Isaac Herzog also visited an impact site in Tel Aviv Sunday, delivering a message of resilience.
“The people of Israel and the people of Iran can live in peace. The region can live in peace. But what undermines peace time and again is terror instigated by this Iranian regime,” Herzog said.
EXILED IRANIAN CROWN PRINCE SAYS US STRIKES MARK ‘BEGINNING OF THE VERY END’ FOR REGIME
Israeli emergency service officer walks past building debris at the scene of a Iranian missile attack. (Ahmad GHARABLI / AFP via Getty Images)
Following the reported killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and roughly 40 senior Iranian officials, Iran formed a provisional leadership council.
Iran named Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, President Masoud Pezeshkian and Judiciary Chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i to lead roles.
“The Supreme Leader did not complete the necessary groundwork regarding his own succession,” Michael added.
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“Pezeshkian will face very troubling challenges due to their heavy losses, severe disruptions to control and command systems, and the massive bombing and attacks across Iran, including Tehran,” he said.
“Even if this regime doesn’t collapse, it will never be able to reconstitute itself, recover or return to its previous position,” Michael added.
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