It would be safe to say that the FIFA Club World Cup (CWC) has been a little underwhelming thus far. The biggest issue has been the low attendances inside the grounds, which even a range of offers for tickets and relatively competitive pricing have been unable to fix. It is harder to gauge how TV viewing figures around the world have fared, or how commercial partners for the event feel about the money they have spent.
Equally, gauging public sentiment is not straightforward, although anecdotally at least, interest in the UK seems muted at best. Nonetheless, FIFA seem likely to push on with the tournament in the years ahead and perhaps over time it will grow into a competition that carries genuine prestige, rather than just piles of cash.
For all the negativity surrounding the tournament and the way many view it as adding an unnecessary extra workload to already tired players, there is a huge amount of prize money at stake. $1bn will be shared by the 32 teams taking part, though of course those funds will not be shared evenly. More than half of the pot is paid out for participation alone, with the biggest European clubs getting far more than the rest.
Should one of the top sides, like Real Madrid or Man City, go all the way, tournament success is likely to be worth around £100m. Even in the mega-bucks world of elite football, that is a huge sum, and so as we near the latter stages of the elongated event, clubs, players and perhaps even fans are sure to take the CWC more seriously.
Group Stage Complete
We have now reached the first big milestone of the competition, as the final group-phase matches were played in the early hours of the 27th of June (UK time). 32 teams, many of which had no real chance of success, have been reduced to 16. Of those 16, it might just about be feasible to say that any could win but realistically we are probably looking at about 10 who have more than mere hope.
There were one or two upsets in the group phase and that has created a round of 16 a little different to that which might have been predicted before a ball was kicked. The CWC uses a bracket system, in common with most similar tournaments, and so those who like to consider stats and permutations can, if they so wish, compile a list of possible routes to the final each club may face. Before we look at the first hurdle they each have to face, let us take a look back at what happened during the group stage.
Atletico Madrid in Shock Exit
The biggest shock of the group phase was that Spanish giants Atletico Madrid failed to make the last 16. They were in Group B, alongside Champions League winners PSG and Brazilian outfit Botafogo (and Seattle Sounders).
PSG put Atleti to the sword first up, winning 4-0, but the Spanish side bounced back with a 3-1 win over the Sounders who, as expected, lost all three games. However, on the same day that Diego Simeone’s men got that win, Botafogo surprisingly beat European champions PSG 1-0. That left the group wide open, and although Atletico Madrid beat Botafogo 1-0 in the final game, they still exited the tournament. Three sides had six points and they had all taken three points in games against the other two, but the Spanish side went home due to their inferior goal difference in the head-to-heads.
Not the Only Surprise
Group A was also very tight and also saw a big European sent packing. There were just two wins in the group, with most games drawn, but Inter Miami’s win over Porto was enough to see the American side progress. Brazilian team Palmeiras topped the group, with Porto third and Al Ahly (of Egypt) finished last.
Group C opened with the sort of result that does the tournament no favours, Bayern Munich beating part-timers Auckland City 10-0. However, it was the final clash that was decisive, as Benfica upset the Germans 1-0 to top the group, with Boca Juniors and Auckland eliminated.
Group D featured Chelsea and in their second game, they were well beaten by another string showing from a Brazilian side. Flamengo beat them 3-1 to top the group, with Chelsea also making the knockout phase. Group E always looked like being Inter Milan’s to win and so it proved, with Mexican side Monterrey pipping River Plate to second, making it a poor tournament all round for Argentine teams.
Group F was one of the easier quartets and Borussia Dortmund topped the pile, Jobe Bellingham grabbing a goal and an assist. Fluminense, yet another Brazilian side, also booked a spot in the last 16. Man City topped their group, boasting a 100% record and producing perhaps the best performance of the phase in beating Juve. The Italians finished second but their 5-2 loss to Pep’s side in the final round of matches will have sent a message to the rest of the teams involved.
Last and certainly not least, it was Real Madrid who progressed from Group H in first place. Al-Hilal, less predictably, finished second, ahead of Red Bull Salzburg and Pachuca. The tabletoppers drew with each other, which meant that Man City were the only team to win all three games. Are they back on track after their thumping of Juventus?
Last 16 Awaits
The draw for the last 16 is as follows:
- Palmeiras v Botafogo
- Benfica v Chelsea
- Inter Milan v Fluminense
- Man City v Al-Hilal
- PSG v Inter Miami
- Flamengo v Bayern Munich
- Real Madrid v Juventus
- Borussia Dortmund v Monterrey
Those games will take place between the 28th of June and the 1st of July. The winner of match one will play the victor of match two, then three versus four and so on. There are clearly some huge games ahead and hopefully excitement will build as the wheat is separated from the chaff yet further.