How South America's six giants have saved the Club World Cup

Brazil has expressed an interest successful hosting the adjacent mentation of the FIFA Club World Cup and halfway done this inaugural 32-team mentation of the competition, it already seems a acceptable and due venue for 2029.

FIFA's caller inaugural could beryllium going incorrect -- plentifulness of games person been played successful beforehand of paltry crowds, matches person been interrupted due to the fact that of climatic conditions, and the blazing vigor whitethorn yet instrumentality its toll connected the second stages of this tournament. But the Club World Cup is being saved, connected and disconnected the field, by the six-strong South American contingent.

Fans from Brazil and Argentina person travel to the U.S. with pridefulness and passion, sending retired a rowdy connection to the doubters -- this happening matters. Take them distant and the full contention could beryllium falling level connected its face. And the travelling supporters person had plentifulness to cheer about. With 1 circular of radical games to go, 5 of their teams -- each 4 Brazilian participants, positive River Plate -- presently apical their groups. And if the remaining team, Boca Juniors, are down successful third, past they person played wrong their limitations with much occurrence than galore had feared.

Has the South American show truthful acold been a surprise? Few saw Botafogo's epic triumph implicit Paris Saint-Germain coming, and Fluminense person surpassed expectations. But, successful their contrasting styles, Flamengo and Palmeiras are much oregon little wherever they expected to be. Their eyes are fixed firmly connected the prize.

The thought down this caller tourney is simply a imagination travel existent for South American nine football. The continent's mentation of the UEFA Champions League, the Copa Libertadores, began successful 1960 arsenic an explicit effect to the birth, and speedy consolidation, of the European Cup. Europe has a champion, went the thinking, truthful present we request to person our ain champions and truthful person a mode of challenging them to a contest. The quest to instrumentality connected the champion successful Europe runs heavy successful the psyche of the South American game.

In caller years, the yearly Intercontinental Cup has go thing of an embarrassment for South America. They attraction truthful overmuch and triumph truthful little. But they are astatine a disadvantage. The enactment takes spot successful December, astatine the extremity of a gruelling South American season.

This time, everything is moving successful their favour. Their fans marque it consciousness similar a location game, the vigor works to their advantage, and they are successful mid-season and afloat of gas. And, similar an Olympic jock preparing for the Games, the large hitters person prepared to deed their highest astatine this moment.

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Maresca: We knew Flamengo were a bully team

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca reacts to Chelsea's astonishing 3-1 nonaccomplishment to Flamengo successful the Club World Cup.

Flamengo flirted with catastrophe successful the Libertadores. A last-gasp artifact from their keeper Agustín Rossi prevented what would person been a humiliating radical signifier exit. It was a calculated risk, with manager Filipe Luis managing his squad successful a bid to debar pain out. And the summation of midfielder Jorginho looks similar the missing portion of the jigsaw. The erstwhile Serie A and Premier League antheral tin power the tempo and supply crisp passes for the team's galore talented wingers.

Palmeiras are a well-run nine who person spent unusually large successful hunt of glory. Striker Vitor Roque, acquired from Barcelona, is the astir costly signing successful the past of the Brazilian nine game. Others person travel in, and the nine made definite of keeping Chelsea-bound Estêvão until the extremity of this competition. They mightiness not person looked particularly eye-catching truthful far, but that is the benignant of their highly intelligent Portuguese manager Abel Ferreira, who tin travel crossed arsenic a younger mentation of Jose Mourinho.

Palmeiras volition instrumentality immoderate stopping -- and Botafogo showed that the aforesaid applies to them with that celebrated triumph implicit the glamorous recently crowned European champions, PSG. Botafogo rode their luck against the Seattle Sounders, but took connected PSG with a antithetic strategy and a antithetic approach, defending with specified subject that they suffered precise fewer moments of existent danger. And with Igor Jesus providing a one-man guardant enactment similar a modern-day mentation of Didier Drogba, they were continually capable to play retired of defence, instrumentality a enactment and regroup. If thing else, that lucifer ought to enactment to furniture everlastingly the inaccurate content of the Brazilian crippled being a benignant of Carnaval successful boots, with everyone retired to explicit themselves and cipher acrophobic astir defending. The full Botafogo broadside marked, ran, tackled, blocked and cleared arsenic if their precise lives depended connected the outcome.

The large question present is whether they tin bash the aforesaid against Atletico Madrid. All they request to bash is debar a three-goal defeat, and the Pasadena vigor would look to beryllium successful their favour. But if they should concede early, past nerves mightiness jangle.

Flamengo person already booked their spot successful the knockout stages. Botafogo and the others should beryllium fine, but they are successful for an absorbing fewer days. If Palmeiras person been drained by the vigor of their past game, they could find it harder to support against Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami CF teammates, and successful the lawsuit of an (unlikely) decision they could beryllium susceptible connected extremity quality to the victor of the FC Porto-Al Ahly game. And Fluminense, who oscillated betwixt fantabulous and dreadful successful their erstwhile match, volition request to debar decision against the unsafe Mamelodi Sundowns.

The probability is, then, that determination volition beryllium 4 Brazilian teams successful the past 16. And 2 from Argentina? Boca Juniors volition beryllium retired if Benfica get a gully against Bayern Munich. Assuming Benfica lose, they are caught successful a turkey shoot, needing arsenic galore goals arsenic imaginable against Auckland City, with a Nashville stadium to sing them implicit the line. River Plate's concern is better, but they look a tricky crippled against Internazionale. River manager Marcelo Gallardo favours an expansive game, with some full-backs pushing forward. Keeping the squad balanced is not easy. They person been picking up tons of cards successful midfield, and the full cardinal trio from Saturday's crippled against Monterrey are suspended for the crunch necktie against Inter.

But immoderate the authorities of play, River Plate and the different South Americans tin beryllium relied upon to rotation up their sleeves and combat for the cause, roared connected by a partition of dependable hitting them from the stands. Whatever happens implicit the adjacent fewer days, the images coming retired of this tourney volition marque it intolerable ever again for immoderate intelligent idiosyncratic to utter the dreaded phrase, "no 1 cares astir the Club World Cup."