Back in Business: Big Clubs Shine in the Club World Cup Round of 16

Real Madrid’s García (left) and Alexander Arnold (right) combined for a fantastic goal to beat Juventus. Photo Credit: GiveMeSport.

Big teams stepped up in the Round of 16 of the Club World Cup. Two relatively small clubs — Fluminense and Al-Hilal — became big clubs by proving their worth.

The Round of 16 of the Club World Cup lived up to the hype.

While the Group Stage held more than a few surprises, the Round of 16 showed the all-around quality fans expected from a tournament featuring the best club teams on the planet.

Still, with quality comes cost.

Favorites of the tournament like PSG and Bayern Munich showed vulnerability in the group stage after losing to clubs like Botafogo and Benfica. However, they showed their true colors here in the Round of 16, when it mattered.

For a while I thought that the reinvigoration of big clubs would hurt the value of the knockout rounds since smaller clubs who deserved a good match would lose by multiple goals. However, as the matches unfolded and (relatively) smaller clubs proved their depth and consistency, I started to realize that big clubs would have to work for every goal.

The matches were entertaining. Let’s get to it.

Paulinho, shown above, led Palmeiras to a stoppage time winner against Botafogo. Photo Credit: SportsDesk — Times of Malta.

An early noon matchup between Palmeiras and Botafogo in East Rutherford, New Jersey was tight to the last moment. It was unfortunate that the tournament would have to lose one of these clubs after they both put on a spectacular show in the Group Stage, Palmeiras coming back against Messi’s Inter Miami in the final moments of the game to avoid a matchup with PSG and Botafogo upsetting both PSG and Atlético Madrid to move on from a tough group.

Not to mention this game was a matchup between two non-European teams, thereby decreasing the likelihood that a non-European team could upset the biggest teams in the world later in the tournament.

It took a 100th minute extra time winner from substitute Paulinho to break the deadlock between the two Brazilian sides in what felt like a high-intensity Brasileiro Série A match as both fanbases yelled from opposite ends of the stadium. Despite Palmeiras receiving a red card, Botafogo was not able to respond and the team that had previously beat PSG was eliminated in the Round of 16.

I felt for Botafogo after this match. I had the opportunity to see both of Botafogo’s matches in Los Angeles against PSG and Atlético Madrid, and the squad’s stout defense and focused counter attack was classy. Still, I think they have much to be proud of from their appearance at this Club World Cup, starting with their consistency in defense. They’ve certainly made a fan out of me.

As for Palmerias, the quality of their depth proved crucial, and it will certainly be put to the test again in a matchup with either Benfica or Chelsea…

Benfica’s Anatoliy Trubin (center) attempts to block a shot from Chelsea’s Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (left). Photo Credit: Al Jazeera.

And hint hint, it’s Chelsea.

After a huge scare against Flamengo, Chelsea’s 3–0 win against ES Tunis in the final match of the group stage left them feeling confident as they entered the Round of 16. But so were their foes — coming off a huge win against Bayern Munich, Benfica were hot and ready to take on any club that came their way.

Only a 64th minute Reece James freekick goal separated the two squads when the game was stopped with only five minutes left to play due to thunderstorms in the Charlotte area. A lengthy stoppage ensued, and when the teams returned, Benfica somehow found a penalty to stay alive. The legendary Ángel di María converted, and Benfica were back in it…

Until they weren’t.

The first half of extra time, highlighted by a red card for Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni, still ended 1–1. But Chelsea took over in the second half, scoring three times to make an extremely tight game ultimately a blowout.

Like Botafogo, Benfica did not deserve their fate. They fought hard against Boca Juniors, Bayern Munich and Chelsea (and scored six against Auckland City). The final scoreline was cruel, but they will always remember the penalty goal after two hours of stoppage in the final two minutes of the game.

Chelsea showed their transition prowess in extra time, and Reece James’ free kick goal was breathtaking. They will have to show their ability to finish and come back in games if they want to succeed in a heavyweight matchup with Palmeiras.

Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi fights for the ball with Joáo Neves, (right) who plays for Messi’s old club PSG. Photo Credit: Flashscore.com.

The PSG and Inter Miami game was, unfortunately, much more straightforward. In fact, it can be summarized in one short sentence.

Messi didn’t show up, so PSG punished.

PSG forced Miami to try and defend one of the best passing attacks in the world, and the backline was not up to the task. Miami suffered for 45 minutes as PSG scored four goals. After that, Messi and Suárez were not able to pull off their magic, and the South Florida squad did not respond in a second half where PSG substituted off many of their star players, even if they replaced them with attacking forces like centerpiece Ousmane Dembélé, who was returning from injury.

While this was a game to forget for Miami, the team will go back into MLS play knowing they can put up a fight against some of the best teams in the world after frustrating Al Ahly, Porto and Palmeiras. But how does that change if their main sources of attacking quality — Suárez and Messi — are running out of time on their contract? This could be the final months the team has with at least Suárez if not the pair, so they have to make it count.

As for PSG, they will now have to face Bayern Munich or Chelsea-defeating-Flamengo. It’s easy to claim that this is the tougher side of the bracket. It’s much harder to actually succeed in it.

At least PSG know they can still score plenty of goals.

Harry Kane, shown above, leads Bayern Munich to a dramatic win over Flamengo. Photo Credit: Bavarian Football Works.

You know who else can score goals? Bayern Munich.

Bayern knew they were going to face a challenge in their matchup against Flamengo. After Flamengo beat Chelsea 3–1 in a match decided by three second half goals from the Brazilians, Bayern knew they had to be at their best to get a result. They scored two goals early and, when Gerson cut the deficit in half for Flamengo with a focused shot smashed into the back of the net, Bayern’s Goretzka immediately responded with a beautiful outside-of-the-box shot.

But that wasn’t the end of Flamengo’s push, as they scored a second courtesy of a well-converted penalty by Jorginho ten minutes after halftime to send easily thousands of Flamengo fans in attendance into oblivion.

It was 2–3. Flamengo was ready to equalize.

But Bayern moved first. In the 73rd minute, Harry Kane scored a classic poacher finish into the bottom right corner to seal the win for the Germans. The match ended 2–4.

This match was a good response for Bayern after a lackluster performance against Benfica in the final group stage match. They showed that they can finish out a game and finish many of their chances too. Above all, Harry Kane showed that he is still one of the best strikers in Europe. Bayern will need him to perform at his best against PSG.

As for Flamengo, it was an unfortunate end to a great tournament. Flamengo played well against ES Tunis, the win against Chelsea was a match to remember. Perhaps the draw with a rotated squad against LAFC might have taken some of the steam out of their campaign. Nonetheless, Flamengo went out fighting, and they will certainly go back into league play with a plan to show the same quality in attack they did against Chelsea and at many moments against Bayern.

Fluminense’s Thiago Silva (center) led his club to a 2–0 win over Italian giants Inter Milan. Photo Credit: Al Jazeera.

At least the Bayern–Flamengo match played out over a full hour and a half of action. Who knew Inter v. Fluminense would be decided in the first three minutes?

A lucky deflection off a cross by Jhon Arias left the ball right in front of Cano, who finished with a striker’s header. After that, as Inter Milan played catchup, Fluminense’s defense proved solid enough to prevent an equalizer. The Brazilian side even had some more attacking moments of their own, including a brilliant rebound chance for Samuel Xavier, a well-worked goal that was taken off for offsides and a great shot by Arias. This culminated in a clinical finish by substitute Hércules in stoppage time to send Fluminense into the quarterfinals with a 2–0 shutout.

But did the scoreline flatter them?

In the end, Inter Milan were not able to finish any of the multiple high-quality chances created by their squad. It is hard to tell if Argentina’s Lautaro Martinez had a bad day at the office or Fluminense goalkeeper Fábio was simply outstanding. Either way, the game didn’t play out in favor of the Champions League runners up from Italy. As they say, it just wasn’t their day.

Inter Milan have recently fallen into an unfortunate trend of falling short. They looked like comeback kings coming into the final of the Champions League only to lose 5–0 against PSG in the final, and then the team looked lackluster in both of their first two matches of the group stage as they drew against Monterrey and squeezed by against Urawa Red Diamonds. As their starting eleven ages, rumors swirl about star players like Dumfries and Sommer moving on from the team. Not to mention they are still adapting to new head coach Chivu after their previous head coach who led them to the final of Champions League, Simone Inzaghi, left for Al-Hilal. At this point it may be up to Lautaro Martinez and promising youngsters like Carboni and Esposito to guide Inter Milan back to glory.

Fluminense has nothing to worry about. They just defeated one of the world’s best sides. They have to relish the moment. Especially when they could be facing Manchester City in the quarterfinal…

Despite scoring a goal, Manchester City’s Phil Foden (center) faces the end of the season as the club was eliminated by Al-Hilal. Photo Credit: The New York Times.

Or maybe they won’t?

Manchester City faced off against Al-Hilal in a match that will certainly be in the highlight reel of the Club World Cup (if there is one).

Manchester City got on the scoreboard early after taking advantage of a jumble in the box, but they could have easily scored three more in the first thirty minutes if not for the heroics of Al-Hilal goalkeeper Yassine Bounou.

Let me just say, going into halftime 1–0 down to Manchester City in a knockout match is impressive. Finding the equalizer right after the break is miraculous.

Al-Hilal’s young Brazilian star Marcos Leonardo pounced on a deflected shot in the 46th minute to eliminate their deficit, but that wasn’t all. A little over five minutes later, a Manchester City corner kick led to an Al-Hilal counterattack in which João Cancelo punted the ball upfield to send Malcom on a breakaway, and the striker scored to make it two goals for two of Al-Hilal’s star Brazilian forwards.

It didn’t take long for Manchester City to respond, though. Bernardo Silva sent in a great cross into the box from a corner kick, and after a bit of confusion, Haaland pushed the ball into the back of the net for his third goal at the Club World Cup. They were tied, again.

What should have been another Haaland tap-in was kicked off the line by Ali Lajami, but the 90 minutes ended 2 -2. Al-Hilal were the first to strike in extra time, as defender Kalidou Koulibaly scored with a great header off a corner kick three minutes into stoppage time.

But Manchester City didn’t care.

Four minutes after being subbed on, attacker Phil Foden scored with a great volley off a beautiful curling cross by Rayan Cherki.

As if that wasn’t enough drama, Al-Hilal got the last laugh — Marcos Leonardo scored again in the 112th minute in what would finally be the last goal of the match. Al-Hilal won, sending the underdogs to the quarterfinals and eliminating Manchester City from a tournament the Cityzens — as Manchester City are called — were perhaps one of the favorites to win. Insane.

But for all of Manchester’s quality play, Al-Hilal’s responses proved that they deserved to go through. An underdog story was rewarded. Al-Hilal will have to like their chances going into a quarterfinal matchup with a somewhat vulnerable Fluminense side, but they can certainly not let their guard down.

Manchester City will be left shocked. I mean, what even happened? Pep Guardiola’s side for perhaps the first time in many years will have something to prove in the new season.

Real Madrid’s Güler (left) and García (right) celebrate after the latter scores a goal to beat Juventus. Photo Credit: The New York Times.

Juventus also have a lot to prove.

After winning nine consecutive league titles between the 2011–12 season and the 2019–20 season, Juventus have not been able to place higher than third place in Italy. Coming off a 2–5 loss against Manchester City, they were ready to play their hardest against a world class Real Madrid team.

Unfortunately, they did not finish off early chances, and it cost them. Kolo Muani had a fantastic chance in the 7th minute but was not able to keep his chip shot under the crossbar, and two half chances by Yildiz and Conceição were also mishandled. While Madrid were limited to long-range efforts in the first half, a great cross by new signing Trent Alexander-Arnold and a finish by breakout star center-forward Gonzalo García were enough for the Spanish side to sneak through to the semifinals.

It was always going to be a tough challenge to beat Real Madrid. But for all the defensive efforts of Juventus and lack of good chances for Real Madrid, the Italians needed to be more clinical in the final third. Even so, they should still be proud that they kept a team like Real Madrid at bay, even if they will be left wondering what could have been. On to the next season.

In Madrid’s next match they will either face Jude Bellingham’s younger brother Jobe Bellingham and perennial Champions League Final contenders Borussia Dortmund or ex-Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos’ new side C.F. Monterrey. Both matches would have a dramatic storyline, but either way Madrid have to favor their chances to go through to the semifinal…right?

Nelson Deossa and Monterrey challenge a strong Borussia Dortmund side but fall short. Photo Credit: Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Score two goals. Only two. That shouldn’t be a hard ask, right? At least not for Borussia Dortmund’s Serhou Guirassy, who scored twice in ten minutes as Borussia Dortmund looked in full control of their match against C.F. Monterrey of Mexico after playing only the first 24 minutes.

However, as the game went on, Monterrey started to find their groove. The Mexican side were easily the underdogs considering Dortmund’s top-tier caliber in Europe, but Monterrey’s attack was still able to find spaces to threaten the Dortmund defense. A 48th minute goal from Monterrey’s Germán Berterame cut the deficit in half, and suddenly Dortmund’s lead was more fragile than they realized.

Monterrey’s Sergio Ramos could have scored a fantastic header in the final minute that would have been a goal for the ages, considering it might have led his side to an upset and a quarterfinal matchup against his old side Real Madrid. However, it was not to be, and Borussia Dortmund held on to claim victory.

Between earning draws with Inter Milan and River Plate and defeating Urawa Reds by multiple goals (many of them long-range), Monterrey had already played a good tournament. This performance against Borussia Dortmund, albeit imperfect, still showed that they certainly deserve recognition on the world stage. They can hold their heads high heading back into league play.

The only damper on Borussia Dortmund’s win was an early yellow card for Jobe Bellingham, who will have to miss a quarterfinal meetup with his brother Jude Bellingham, who plays for Real Madrid, due to yellow card accumulation. It’s unfortunate, but at least the suspension may help the Bellinghams avoid any sibling conflict post-match.

Looking back on the Round of 16, it was clear that high-caliber, big-money clubs like Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and PSG stepped up their game to ensure they advanced. That’s not to say they didn’t make an effort against teams in the Group Stage, but rather they gave it their all in these matches. This not only shows that they respect their international opponents, but it also proves that they care about this tournament. We have come a long way from early doubts about the credibility of this tournament.

Especially considering teams like Al-Hilal and Fluminense are still strutting their stuff against the best in the world.

So let’s keep an eye out as we continue to make history in this inaugural Club World Cup.

Until next time.

Brazilian club Fluminense’s Samuel Xavier (left), Renê (center) and Germán Cano (right). Fluminense stunned Inter Milan with a 2–0 win. Photo Credit: 101 Great Goals.

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