World Cup-winning French international Blaise Matuidi made his Inter Miami debut in a draw with Nashville SC in South Florida. The midfielder’s appearance made him just the 12th World Cup winner to feature in MLS.
“I’m happy about the game overall. It wasn’t necessarily the result the team was hoping for, but we’ll keep working on this and get ready for the game against Atlanta,” said Matuidi following his first match donning Inter Miami’s colors. “I definitely see quality. There’s not a lot missing for us to be able to win, it all falls to the details and really getting the final third and final action completed to score goals. We will build in confidence and that will ultimately get us to winning games.”
“I feel Blaise did great work and played a great match. He only had a few training sessions with us, but you could see his quality and his intelligence to help the team play better. Logically, with the time he has to adapt he’ll keep taking steps forward and he’ll help us grow a lot,” added manager Diego Alonso.
The midfielder put in an emphatic performance, commanding the midfield despite arriving in town just over a week ago and participating in just two training sessions with the team.
“I was expecting probably closer to 60 minutes, but with coach we decided to keep pushing a bit further. I have a very good first impression of the league, this is definitely a league that requires a lot from us. The players show a lot of effort and a lot of intensity. I will myself have to continue giving my 100% to help the team win, because that is ultimately the goal for any team,” said Matuidi.
The Frenchman attempted the second-most passes on the team with 52, including 31 in the opposition half, completing 90% of his passes overall. Matuidi also added two key passes to his total, and a solid defensive performance, including six possession wins.
“My role is very much like what I have been used to in my career, it is to help organize the team, push us forward, find the way to move us forward and set up players in attack, and help out pressing,” added Matuidi. “Nothing has really changed from what I’ve been used to in my career which makes me really happy.”
Matuidi’s first impression of MLS was a positive one as he praised the abilities of the players around him. The midfielder also stated his desire to give his maximum effort to help lift the team above the competition.
“The pace of the game was really good. There were a lot of players with a lot of technical quality on the field,” concluded Matuidi. “It is up to me to give my all and make sure I can get ready off and on the field to give my 100% and help this team.”
