The newly-relaunched Club World Cup is down to its last eight teams, and the trophy is very much up for grabs now for the team who can progress through the next three matches in the hope of being crowned champion.
Fluminense vs Al Hilal will start proceedings on Friday, in a game that few could’ve predicted taking place given their opponents in the last round were Inter Milan and Man City, respectively.
Some super quarter-finals in prospect
Pep Guardiola won’t agree of course, but it’s certainly opened up that half of the draw. Palmeiras vs Chelsea follows, with Paris Saint-Germain vs Bayern Munich (a repeat of the 2020 Champions League final) and Real Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund (a repeat of the 2024 UCL final) to conclude the round.
With the South American sides doing particularly well to this point, it certainly isn’t a foregone conclusion that the trophy will be heading to its usual destination, Europe, either.
We’ve seen some ridiculously one-sided scorelines to this point, including Bayern’s 10-0 victory over Auckland City and Man City’s 6-0 demolition of Al Ain. Not to mention the entertainment value of a 4-4 draw between Porto and Al Ahly or Al Hilal’s era-defining 4-3 victory over Man City.
Vinicius Jr has been disappointing
Goals clearly win games, but which strikers have turned up at the tournament and helped fire their teams into the latter stages… and which have badly let down their teams when it mattered?
Vinicius Junior might well have been expected to be a shining light at the tournament, but the Brazilian has looked lethargic and off the pace for long periods.
