Extreme heat, poor pitches & plenty of goals - Club World Cup reaches halfway stage

Fifa's expanded Club World Cup successful the United States has reached the extremity of its radical phase, with 2 weeks of knockout matches to come.

Having risen from 7 teams to 32, the contention has received disapproval implicit subordinate payment concerns with matches played successful utmost temperatures, often with mediocre attendances.

Critics accidental the Club World Cup is purely determination to boost Fifa's finances, portion football's governing assemblage argues the lawsuit is needed to physique up to adjacent summer's five-week World Cup, which volition diagnostic 48 nations and beryllium held successful 16 cities crossed Canada, the US and Mexico.

This has been a contention of monolithic contrasts. From hugely one-sided thrashings, specified arsenic Bayern Munich mounting a caller tourney grounds erstwhile they crushed New Zealand part-timers Auckland City 10-0, to thrilling matches, including 4-4 and 4-3 scorelines.

We person taken a look astatine 5 talking points truthful far.

Ever since the tourney enlargement was announced, determination person been large concerns implicit the workload of the players, particularly with the World Cup coming up successful 12 months.

Since the main European seasons began successful August, Real Madrid person present played 65 times, Inter Milan 62, Paris St-Germain 61 and some Chelsea and Manchester City 60 apiece, with 4 much games to travel if they scope the final.

What has made it worse is the temperatures the matches are being held in. Temperatures reached 36C during the crippled betwixt Bayern Munich and Benfica successful Charlotte, North Carolina, portion Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca said it was "impossible" to organise mean grooming sessions amid a "code red" terrible vigor informing successful Philadelphia.

Cooling breaks person been utilized with players dashing to get immoderate shade, often portion wearing an ice-cold towel oregon throwing bottles of h2o implicit their heads successful an effort to chill down.

The menace of thunderstorms has caused lengthy delays to 5 matches due to the fact that play successful American stadiums has to beryllium halted erstwhile lightning is recorded wrong a 10-mile radius.

With 3 venues successful Mexico, arsenic good arsenic cities including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta and Miami hosting matches successful the 2026 World Cup, upwind delays could good beryllium a diagnostic of that tourney arsenic well.

There person been crowds of much than 40,000 astatine 18 of the 48 radical games with galore superb atmospheres.

The highest attendance truthful acold has been the 80,619 that watched European champions Paris St-Germain thrash Atletico Madrid 4-0 astatine the Rose Bowl successful Pasadena.

Top 10 attendances of the Club World Cup

However, galore games person not sold arsenic well, with astir 50,000 seats near unfilled for Chelsea's opener against Los Angeles FC successful Atlanta.

Eight of the 10 lowest attendances person travel from matches played betwixt Monday and Friday and six of those 10 started betwixt midday and 3pm section clip with Fifa struggling to equilibrium the section request for tickets, tourney prices and scheduling matches to fulfill the lucrative tv markets successful Europe and Asia.

Worst 10 attendances of the Club World Cup

PSG manager Luis Enrique has been among those criticising the playing surfaces, saying Fifa needs to "bear successful mind" the prime of some lucifer and grooming pitches if it wants the Club World Cup to beryllium "the astir high-level contention successful the world".

"I wouldn't ideate an NBA tribunal afloat of holes," the 55-year-old said aft his broadside bushed Seattle Sounders 2-0.

"What I truly attraction astir is the authorities of the tract of play. The shot bounces astir similar if it were jumping astir similar a rabbit."

Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham besides recovered responsibility with the transportation pursuing his team's 3-1 triumph implicit Pachuca.

"The pitches aren't large astatine all. It holds up the ball, the shot hardly bounces," said the England midfielder. "It's pugnacious connected the knees arsenic well. Hopefully there's idiosyncratic who volition look astatine that going into the World Cup adjacent year."

In short, precise seriously. But past that is understandable considering determination is simply a £775m prize pot, which volition beryllium divided betwixt the 32 teams, with the winners earning up to £97m.

Clubs volition instrumentality location a acceptable fig for each circular they reach. A triumph successful the radical signifier earns them £1.5m, a gully £800,000, portion they get an further £5.8m for reaching the past 16, different £10.1m for getting to the quarter-finals, £16.2m for making the semi-finals, £23.2m for being successful the last and £30m for winning the full thing.

Manchester City were the lone squad to triumph each 3 of their radical matches, beating Moroccan broadside Wydad AC 2-0, Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates 6-0 and past Italy's Juventus 5-2 connected Thursday.

Before the tourney started, shot information specialists Opta said the 11 astir apt teams to triumph the trophy were each from Europe.

However, 3 of the continent's 12 sides person gone retired successful the opening signifier with Porto, Atletico Madrid and Red Bull Salzburg each exiting aft finishing 3rd successful their respective groups.

There were six sides from South America and portion some of those from Argentina person been eliminated, each 4 from Brazil person made it done with Palmeiras taking connected Botafogo successful a last-16 tie.

Two of the 5 teams from North America - Inter Miami and Mexico's Monterrey - are inactive going, portion Saudi Arabian outfit Al Hilal, who play Manchester City successful the archetypal knockout round, are the lone Asian broadside near in.

All 4 African teams failed to marque it retired of their groups, arsenic did Oceania's lone typical Auckland City, though the part-timers did summation a memorable 1-1 gully with Boca Juniors of Argentina.

Last 16 fixtures (all times BST)

The quarter-finals volition beryllium played crossed 4 and 5 July, the semi-finals connected 8 and 9 July, with the last taking spot connected 13 July.