It’s fair to say before this summer’s FIFA Club World Cup the jury was firmly out on whether it was needed or not.
Whilst in principle the idea is a good one, it’s fair to say that the majority of clubs were undecided. With no major international football scheduled this summer, teams would have been looking forward to giving some of their star men some much needed rest ahead of what will be another domestic campaign.
Instead, clubs have travelled out to America to play extra games in the soaring heat. Although the Club World Cup has had its fair share of critics, now that the tournament has begun is it beginning to win people over?
South American teams defying all expectations has provided a huge lift
Before a ball was kicked at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, some of our top recommended online casinos and sportsbooks believed that European teams would breeze their way through to the latter stages of the tournament. That hasn’t turned out to be the case at all.
We knew that fans of clubs such as Fluminese, Boca Juniors and Botafogo would bring huge followings, but that passionate support has really helped South American teams defy all expectations.
Palmeiras, Botafogo and Flamengo have all already booked their places in the last 16 and at the time of writing River Plate and Fluminese look to have a great opportunity of joining them.
The participation of the South American sides has led to a passion in the stands and has drawn further eyeballs to the competition.
With interest slowly building, the tournament could really ignite if one of those sides is able to go on a real run.
Attendances have generally been good
With the World Cup coming to America next summer, the Club World Cup has been a great litmus test to explore how soccer hungry the U.S. currently is.
Whilst rumours were circling that tickets for the opening match of the tournament were being offered at a bargain rate, attendances on the whole have been positive.
There have undoubtedly been a few matches which have struggled to gain any sort of traction, but that can also happen in tournaments such as the World Cup.
Organisers should feel hopeful that as the tournament reaches its business end, the stands should be full of supporters. That should give the tournament the ending it deserves.
There has been plenty of goals
Coming into the tournament there were big fears that with the majority of the sides having had long domestic seasons the heat might stifle some of the action on the pitch and some of the games might turn into mild and drab affairs.
Instead it has been a bit of a goal bonanza. To date there have just been four goalless draws and there have been plenty of games that have seen over three goals.
Goals make for exciting matches and games where there were suspicions and fears that the matches would be one sided and dull contests, have proved to be anything but.
Already in this tournament we have seen PSG lose to Botofogo, Real Madrid draw to Al-Hilal, Monterrey draw to Inter and Flamengo beat Chelsea.
Where many would have previously believed that European sides would have cruised through the group phase, the last sixteen is throwing up some interesting looking games.
Palmeiras vs Botafogo will bring plenty of passion down from the stands and the contest between Champions League winners PSG and Lionel Messi and Inter Miami will see millions from all over the globe tune in and watch.
There will be no easy matches as the tournament reaches its knockout phase and we could be in for a thrilling finish that few initially saw coming.
