Lionel Messi pushes Inter Miami to knockout stages, Seattle Sounders battle, LAFC fall flat: Grading MLS teams at the Club World Cup

Grade: D

Group Stage recap: 2-0 loss to Chelsea, 1-0 loss to Esperance de Tunis, 1-1 draw vs Flamengo

Tournament MVP: The full-time whistle

Performance analysis: Practically nothing went right for LAFC in the competition. Against Chelsea, they had a few bright moments, but were completely overwhelmed in possession and off the ball against the English club. After coming into the competition as late entrants, there was a clear pathway for them to advance out of the group, but they never took it. Their Matchday 2 performance against Esperance was nothing short of embarrassing; they failed to register a single shot on target until stoppage time, and they were then handed a penalty kick with the final opportunity of the match to secure a point, and Denis Bouanga's poor attempt was saved.

Sure, they got a point against Flamengo -- which is a good result and helps the team leave the tournament with pride. But at the same time, the Brazilian side was already through, and they knew they only needed a draw to finish first in the group.

Showing up after already being eliminated shouldn't be praised. LAFC should, rightfully, be embarrassed.

Grade: C+

Group Stage recap: 2-1 loss to Botafogo, 3-1 loss to Atletico Madrid, 2-0 loss to PSG

Tournament MVP: Cristian Roldan

Performance analysis: Seattle played one hell of a second half against Botafogo in their opener. Cristian Roldan became a man possessed and scored a goal that brought them back into the match, and they nearly earned a draw as a result!

Against Atletico, the Sounders were once again rather resilient. They conceded early and bounced back well to go into the half down just one goal. After Atleti doubled their lead two minutes into the second half, they responded with a goal of their own, but the La Liga side extinguished their flame five minutes later with their third, the dagger. Once again, though, it wasn't a really bad performance -- they played well. Notably, rising midfielder Obed Vargas had a standout performance, as the 19-year-old put in an admirable showing against Diego Simeone's men.

Perhaps Seattle's best game of the Group Stage came against the reigning European Champions in PSG, though. They held them to just two goals, and put forth a midfield performance that was both admirable and, well, sad to watch (PSG are really, really good. Don't take this the wrong way, Seattle, but you looked like a JV team scrimmaging varsity).

Manager Brian Schmetzer should feel good about this as they head back into the MLS season, and his squad should too. Valuable experience and a really impressive effort from them.

Grade: B+

Group Stage recap: Drew Al Ahly 0-0, defeated FC Porto 2-1, drew Palmeiras 2-2

Tournament MVP: Lionel Messi

Performance analysis: The Heron's opening game against Al Ahly, by all accounts, was underwhelming. Oscar Ustari's penalty kick save is what earned them a point, and the Egyptian powerhouse was truly the better side across all 90 minutes. However, they turned a new leaf and came in with a different mentality against Porto.

A pretty bland first half saw Porto take an early lead just eight minutes in and coast to halftime. Then, Miami was a different team across the final 45 minutes. Telasco Segovia drew them level, and then Leo Messi himself scored a trademark free kick to secure them all three points. Mascherano made some monumental changes at the break, and it absolutely paid off for the South Beach club to secure a truly historic victory.

Against Palmeiras, Miami went up 2-0 and collapsed late, conceding twice after the Brazilian side put on the pressure late. It was another really impressive showing, but they did show their flaws at the end - and defensive collapses have been an all-too-familiar theme for the club over the past 12 months.

Overall, though, well done. Undefeated across the Group Stage and into the knockouts, Miami impressed and deserves to be recognized for how monumental of an achievement this is for both the club and MLS.

Miami will be put to the test in the Round of 16 when they're paired up against reigning European Champions Paris Saint-Germain. A former club of Messi's, the Argentine has gone on the record multiple times about his disdain for the time he spent in Ligue 1 with them, meaning there will be a feisty matchup on the cards.

"In the end, what Leo wants is to win games, like the great player that he is. I know the feelings he has towards Barça, where we play together, but not towards PSG," defender Jordi Alba said ahead of the match.

"He was there for two years, and only he knows what happened. What is clear is that it will be a hard-fought match, and hopefully we can ring the bell, knowing the difficulty involved in playing with these types of teams."

Midfielder Benjamin Cremaschi added that the Herons are cognizant of the fact that the Parisian side is the favorite heading into the chance, but that Miami are going into the contest knowing they've already achieved great heights, so they have nothing to lose regardless of the outcome.

“We know they’re the best team in Europe - and we know that for a fact,” Cremaschi explained on The Overlap podcast. “We’re ready to compete the way we’ve been competing. I don’t think we need to shy down from anything. I feel like we’ve been competing at a good level, and we saw Botafogo do it, so why can’t we?

"And Botafogo is a team which competes a lot, which runs a lot, defends very well. I think if we kind of just mimic that and compete the way we’re competing and play the way we’re playing, and you never know, something could happen. We could do something. And we have nothing to lose, so we’re going to go full and see what happens.”

The Eastern Conference MLS franchise will take on PSG on Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium at noon ET, with the winner advancing to the quarterfinals of the competition.

Seattle and LAFC, meanwhile, return to MLS action for Matchday 21 of the season this weekend.