Messi received the ball on the right side having taken a short corner, and curled in a superb strike with his signature left foot, only to see goalkeeper Mohamed Elshenawy somehow tip it over the bar in the sixth minute of time added on.

Maximiliano Falcon saw his header saved from the subsequent corner, taken by Luis Suarez, but after a failed Al Ahly counter-attack the final whistle was blown, leaving both sides with a point apiece after the first contest of this much-hyped tournament.

After an elaborate and extravagent opening ceremony, the two teams took to the field to get the football underway at last, and Al Ahly was the dominant side for much of the first half.

Emam Ashour had the first big chance after eight minutes when he was put through on goal by Trezeguet, but Inter Miami goalkeeper Oscar Ustari was out quicky to save, beginning what would be a busy night for him.

Ashour was forced off the field with injury barely five minutes later, but the Al Ahly attacks didn't stop there and on the half-hour it thought it had gone ahead, but Wassam Abou Ali was correctly ruled offside after putting the ball in the back of the net.

Ustari pulled off another fine save to keep out Achraf Dari's header soon after that, but went one better in saving a penalty from Trezeguet just before half-time to the delight of the Hard Rock Stadum crowd.

Inter Miami started to look better in stoppage-time at the end of the first half, and some desperate defending from Abou Ali on the Al Ahly goalline was required to keep the game scoreless after Messi had created a chance.

Miami improved significantly after the break, Messi taking a shot from distance on 57 minutes but directly at  Elshenawy.

The Argentina legend was close again just after the our mark with another free-kick, curling the ball low around the wall with his left foot and grazing the outside of the post.

Messi was at the heart of another chance as the ball went into the box with five minutes remaining. Fafa Picault rose highest to head the ball on goal, but as it bounced up off the turf, Elshenawy made a stunning save to deny the Inter Miami substitute.

The tournament continues on Monday (AEST) when Bundesiga champion Bayern Munich meets the A-League's Auckland City FC in Group C.

Group B sees UEFA Champions League winner Paris Saint-Germain take on LaLiga's Atletico Madrid before Palmeiras and FC Porto see if they can take advantage of today's Group A draw with a win that would put either of them top of that table.

The day is set to finish with Botafogo going up against Seattle Sounders in Group B.