MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — A sea of red descended on Hard Rock Stadium Saturday night for the highly anticipated Club World Cup opening match, as fans of Egyptian power Al Ahly traveled long distances to see their beloved Red Devils face Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami teammates.

Although the game was being played 21 miles south of Inter Miami’s home stadium, the crowd of 60,927 looked evenly divided, but the Red Devils fans were much louder during the dramatic match, which ended in a 0-0 tie.

Al Ahly has 12 million Instagram followers and 30 of the 200 credentialed reporters were from Egyptian outlets. Every time the Red Devils got near the Miami goal, their fans went wild.

The Egyptian team dominated the first half, slicing through Miami’s defense on counterattacks, but Inter Miami goalkeeper Oscar Ustari, who turns 39 in a few weeks, made save after save to keep the game scoreless at the break.

His most spectacular save came in the 43rd minute, when he blocked a Trezeguet penalty kick from 12 yards out. Telasco Segovia committed the foul in the box, holding the mid-section of a Red Devils player. Al Ahly had six shots on goal in the first half, and Ustari saved every one of them.

Miami, meanwhile, had just one shot on goal and didn’t threaten for most of the first half.

Messi went down at the 35-minute mark, and it appeared he had injured his right knee. The stadium went silent as he grimaced and was surrounded by his teammates. But he got up and continued playing. He and Luis Suarez were relatively quiet through the first half.

Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano made one change at halftime, bringing in Marcelo Weigandt for center back Toto Aviles, who was on a yellow card. Ian Fray shifted from right back to center back and Weigandt played on the right.

Miami came out strong to start the second half, with players linking up in the final third much better than they had earlier in the night. Tadeo Allende came close to scoring in the 51st minute, but his close-range shot was stopped by Al Ahly goalkeeper Mohamed El Shenawy.

Ten minutes later, Messi came inches from putting Miami on the scoreboard. He unleashed a left-footed free kick and it skimmed the outside of the net. The shot was so good that fans across the stadium thought it went in.

The score remained 0-0 after 72 minutes, and Mascherano made his second substitution. Segovia came out and Key Biscayne’s Benja Cremaschi went in, joining fellow Inter Miami academy products Noah Allen and Fray on the field.

Miami players continued to attack with purpose, as the momentum shifted in their direction. Fafa Picault came off the bench in the 80th minute, replacing Allende, and nearly scored on a bouncing header.

Michael and Sherina Zekri, natives of Egypt who moved the United States seven years ago, flew to Miami from Peoria, Ariz., with a group of 11 friends and relatives for the game. They are Messi fans but were rooting for Al Ahly. Other fans wore scarves that were half Inter Miami and half Al Ahly.

“I am just hoping for a good game,” Michael Zekri said. “As soon as we heard Al Ahly would be playing here, we bought tickets. This is a special chance for us as Egyptians to see our team. But we like Messi, too.”

The Red Devils fans roared when their starting lineup was announced: El Shenawy; Yasser, Dari, Hany; Ben Romdhane, Hamdy, Marawan, Trezeguet, Koka; Wessam.

Inter Miami’s Starting XI included: Ustari; Aviles, right back Fray, left back Allen, center back Maxi Falcon; midfielder Sergio Busquets, midfielder Segovia, midfielder Fede Redondo; winger Allende; forward Suarez; and Messi, the captain.

Jordi Alba, Gonzalo Lujan and Yannick Bright sat out with injuries.

Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham, fresh off his knighthood in England, got a loud ovation when he was shown on the jumbo screen.

Despite a roster that includes the Argentine eight-time Ballon d’ Or winner, Inter Miami is the underdog in Group A, which includes Al Ahly, 30-time Portuguese champion Porto and Palmeiras of Brazil, a perennial regional champion that features Chelsea-bound teen phenom Estavao. The top two teams in each group advance to the Round of 16.

Al Ahly is the highest-ranked African team in the world, a team that won that region’s Champions League three of the past four years and has racked up 155 trophies over its 118-year history.

Spanish coach Jose Riveiro, who was hired last month, mad his Al Ahly debut Saturday.

Meanwhile, there is pressure on Messi and Inter Miami to prove that an MLS team can compete with some of the most storied clubs in the world. It will not be easy, as MLS has restrictive roster and salary rules, and Miami is in its infancy, in its sixth season.

Security was extremely tight for the match, which was to be expected after the dangerous gate-crashing debacle at the Copa America final between Colombia and Argentina at Hard Rock Stadium last summer.

This time, there was a double-ringed perimeter around the stadium grounds. Fans without tickets who arrived at the first checkpoint by foot or car were turned away. Once inside the first ring, fans then had to go through a second security checkpoint at the stadium gates.

The game was broadcast on TBS and livestreamed on DAZN.com

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