After a sweltering few days in the UK, it was a relief to see that conditions in the afternoon sun in Philadelphia were somewhat matching the torturous humid atmosphere in London. That being said, I’d still rather play 90 minutes of professional football in 50% humidity than enduring my 17-minute, nine-stop journey on the Victoria line every day.
It’s been an interesting few days of Club World Cup football, in which we’ve gradually seen the hype for the tournament growing, largely thanks to some big upsets. None bigger than Paris Saint-Germain’s Thursday night loss to Botafogo, who sit 8th in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A.
Other notable talking points include Al Hilal holding Real Madrid to a 1-1 draw. In the last couple of years rumours have continued to grow that we may eventually see a Middle Eastern presence battling it out with Europe’s elite in the Champions League. Pessimists will say that it’s the end of Real Madrid’s season… but no doubt a few eyebrows have risen and a few dollar signs are now dancing across the eyes of UEFA executives. Lastly, how could you possibly talk about the last few days of football without mentioning Lionel Messi’s brilliant free-kick in Inter Miami’s 3-1 win over Porto. All of a sudden, 12 months doesn’t feel like a very long time until he has a chance to go for his second World Cup. And yes, I will be visiting Brixton TK Maxx tomorrow to see if they have any Inter Miami tops left in stock.
It’s not all been plain sailing for the tournament however, with it coming under further scrutiny for its attendances. No game more so than Ulsan HD vs Mamelodi Sundowns. Official attendance was said to be just 3,412. Though reports from journalists in attendance suggest it might’ve been even lower.
What’s even more bizarre, and something I had suspected the other day, is that the tournament is being played at the same time as the Concacaf Gold Cup, in the same country. What planet were organisers on when they decided hosting two separate tournaments in the same country was a good idea?!
Flamengo vs Chelsea
South American teams are having a field day at this tournament, in fact they’re unbeaten so far, and last night’s game proved to be no exception. Attendance for this game was notably better than Monday afternoon’s game in Atlanta, with the attendance exceeding 54,000, despite the games being played at the same time. South American teams took the old Club World Cup format very seriously, so it’s not exactly surprising that the new format has been ranked with similar importance.
For the most part, I want to avoid these blogs talking about the ins and the outs of the game. Three minute YouTube highlight packages exist for a reason. However, this game really did have it all. Starting with vicious rumours that had circulated in the run-up to this game that Enzo Maresca was prepared to risk a FIFA fine in rotating as much of his first XI as possible. In the end, only four changes were made to the starting XI from Monday’s game.
It felt like a bit of a trip down memory lane with both Filipe Luís and Jorginho featuring in some form for Flamengo. Flashing back to Summer 2014, following the signings of Cesc Fàbregas and Diego Costa, Filipe Luís was meant to be one of the final pieces of our squad’s puzzle and the long term replacement for Ashley Cole. What nobody could’ve possibly seen is César Azpilicueta, signed two seasons before, from claiming the left back spot as his own. Despite winning a Premier League and League Cup, his 26 appearances in Chelsea blue always felt pretty underwhelming. It wasn’t a surprise to see him return to Atlético, but it’s great to see him carving out such a strong start to his career in management.
Who could possibly forget Jorginho? Few players have divided opinion more than the Brazilian-born Italian international. What cannot be denied is he played a key role in Chelsea’s crowning as Champions of Europe in 2021 and it felt like his job was done when he left for Arsenal in January 2023. After all, he was never going to win anything there anyway.
One feature of this tournament which I have found rather interesting to see is the Ref Cam feature. If I was a referee, I’d feel slightly concerned, as it does an even better job than the traditional camera angles at exposing some of their decisions. One thing they cannot be blamed for is the red card shown to Nicholas Jackson just four minutes after he came onto the pitch. A second yellow card in three games, especially with a battle looming against Liam Delap for a place in next season’s XI, isn’t exactly a great look.
What’s most unfortunate about this game is the PSG loss to Botafogo had very much opened up Chelsea’s run in the competition. In a world where both teams won their groups, we’d have inevitably been paired at the quarter-final stage. PSG’s loss to Botafogo on Thursday changed this, but last night’s result regrettably put this back on the menu. Tuesday morning’s 2am match-up against Espérance Sportive de Tunis now carries some serious weight to it, and I plan to be in deep sleep when it takes place.
The Shed Diaries 