The Athletic has live coverage of Benfica vs Bayern Munich from the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.
Clarity was in short supply during the breathless, end-to-end drama of Monday’s final Group A matches being played simultaneously in Miami and New Jersey, but the tension of the two games should crystallise one thing for FIFA when it comes to deliberating on the future direction of the Club World Cup.
The expansion of the field to 32 teams has, so far, been a sporting success, providing the proof of concept the competition needed to legitimise itself — but world football’s governing body must not allow the madness of Porto’s 4-4 draw against Al Ahly and Inter Miami’s 2-2 with Palmeiras to indulge a logic that assumes more always equals better.
Last night’s two helter-skelter matches were perfect examples of the jeopardy that comes from only two sides in each four-team group progressing into the knockout phase of a tournament.
It was the sort of night that looks likely to be far rarer at next summer’s also-expanded 48-team World Cup — increased from 32 — because the eight best third-placed sides in the groups will also advance.
The World Cup’s 48-team concept is bloated. After 72 group games, more than 6,500 minutes of football, those 48 teams will be whittled down by just a third to 32.
It will surely render many opening-phase matches meaningless and, while there will be a whole load of permutations in working out who the eight best third-placed teams are, it is direct conflict within one group that creates these gladiatorial duels in these final games.
Heading into the last matchdays of the group stage at this Club World Cup, only one of the eight has been decided with a game to spare — Group G, where Juventus and Manchester City have been dominant.
The overall quality of Group A, which lacked a pre-tournament favourite, may have been poorer but the flatness of its hierarchy made for captivating viewing.
Inter Miami’s Luis Suarez added to the entertainment of Group A (Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
Egyptian club Al Ahly entered their match with Porto of Portugal at MetLife Stadium knowing they had to win and hope Palmeiras beat Inter Miami in the latter’s backyard at Hard Rock Stadium if they were to finish level on four points with the MLS side and go through on goal difference. Porto had to win and hope Miami defeated Palmeiras for the same reason.
Palmeiras and Miami knew that while a draw would put them both through, winning and finishing top meant avoiding UEFA Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16, so the carrot was there to attack.
The four teams traded punches wildly, with Al Ahly taking the lead and being pegged back four times, including a period of 13 minutes in the second half that included four goals.
The all-or-nothing nature of the match in New Jersey led to a level of individualism that encouraged bravery and delivered the spectacular. There was Rodrigo Mora’s slaloming solo goal, William Gomes’ 25-yard curler, Wessam Abou Ali’s superb header to round off a perfect hat-trick and Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane’s whipped finish from outside the box.
“We knew that Al Ahly needed to win and we knew that Porto needed to win. In order for us to win we had to open up a little bit the game and at the same time they scored but we went after it. The second half was a little chaotic because they were tired, we were tired, the game was broken. I think it was very good for the spectators to see a game like this,” said Porto and Canada midfielder Stephen Eustaquio.
When Palmeiras drew level in the 87th minute down in Florida, they and Miami were back to where they began the night — knowing that a stalemate until the final whistle would assure safe passage into the knockout phase for both.
But this was an evening of chaos, and so it proved to be until the very last kick.
After the odd attempt at keep-ball from both sides, Palmeiras launched a long pass up the pitch in the 95th minute, setting Paulinho through on goal, only for he and Victor Roque to be denied by Miami ’keeper Oscar Ustari.
“If I could give that hat-trick back and go through obviously I would,” said Abou Ali. “It’s something I will look back at in some years and be happy and proud of, because Porto is a good team, but today we had one goal and that was to do what we can do to put ourselves in a situation to go through, no matter what happened in the other game.
“It was close to that but in the end, it wasn’t enough, but I’m proud of my team and the fans and my staff.”
Bringing so many teams together from every continent threatened to expose the financial gulf between Europe and the rest, but it has instead served as a reminder that it is still 11 versus 11.
Even in the groups including two European clubs, there have been early unexpected eliminations. Botafogo’s victory against PSG left the French champions having to win their final game against Seattle Sounders of MLS earlier on Monday, which they did, and it also meant Atletico Madrid had to beat the Brazilians by a margin of three goals in the other Group B fixture happening at the same time, which they could not do.
Group F is finely poised, with Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund and Mamelodi Sundowns all competing in Wednesday’s final pair of games to finish in the top two.
In Groups E and H, to be settled on Wednesday and Thursday respectively, there could be a scenario in which the respective number of yellow cards or even the drawing of lots has to be resorted to.
If Monterrey beat Urawa Red Diamonds and River Plate draw with Serie A side Inter, all three would be level on five points and all three would have drawn against each other, so could not be separated on head-to-head results.
The same goes for Real Madrid, who face Red Bull Salzburg and know a win will send them through, but a draw, combined with a win for Al Hilal against Pachuca, will leave all three on five points apiece, bringing the tie-break rules into play.
In Group D, Chelsea face ES Tunis today (Tuesday) and need only to avoid defeat to go through. However, their opponents must win and that leads to one of the major drawbacks with the World Cup format next year. The Tunisians are on three points, but if they knew that the best third-place finishers could still qualify, it could encourage a cagier display as teams are not solely competing against their group opponents, increasing the motivation to settle for a draw.
“Part of our responsibility as clubs is to try to play a good brand of football, try to motivate the people here in the USA to come to the games, to fill the stadiums,” said Al Ahly coach Jose Riveiro.
“For that, you need games like our game tonight.”
Contributing reporting: Asli Pelit
(Top photo: Martín Fonseca/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)
