Some idiot on this site initially said that there were 24 teams in the Club World Cup when there were actually 32. With the group stage now over, there are now 16 teams, whose ranks include some surprising names. Let’s see who made out.
FIFA Club World Cup Group Stage Winners
Manchester City
That rout of Juventus is an awfully intimidating way to end the group stage. It could have been worse, too, with Juve keeper Michele di Gregorio making enough saves to prevent the 5-2 loss from being even worse. City end up as the only team to get three wins from three in the group stage, and their first place finish in Group G means that their round of 16 opponent will be…
Al-Hilal
They ended the group stage without a loss, and they defeated Pachuca on a breakaway chance finished off by a sumptuous chip from team captain Salem al-Dawsari. Based on the eye test, you’d have to say that the Saudi club was the second best in their group as well, better than either Pachuca or RB Salzburg. They’ve already outdone expectations by a wide margin, and their draw against Real Madrid proved that Man City shouldn’t rest too easy against them, either.
Monterrey
While Pachuca went down to defeat, the other Mexican club carried the tricolor proudly in a decisive 4-0 defeat of Urawa Red Diamonds. Los rayados will have quite a task ahead of them when they face Borussia Dortmund in the knockout stages, but after they held Inter Milan to a draw, they won’t be overawed by the occasion.
Luis Suárez
The infamously bitey Uruguayan striker reminded everyone of his best qualities with his goal against Palmeiras when he dribbled through a double team, faked out Bruno Fuchs, and finished inside Weverton’s near post. He was one of four ex-Barcelona guys who helped Inter Miami keep their composure when the other MLS teams were losing theirs, and now they’re the one American club left in the competition.
Christian Gray
Not the emotionally unavailable billionaire from Fifty Shades of Grey, instead he’s a P.E. teacher from Auckland. His headed goal from a corner kick gave Auckland City an incredible draw against Boca Juniors that they will be talking about for decades down New Zealand way. It’s something when a millionaire superstar saves his team like this, but it’s a whole other thing when a dude with a day job helps his team to the greatest result in its history.
Jo Hyeon-woo
The Ulsan HD goalkeeper turned in a breathtaking performance in his team’s 1-0 loss to Borussia Dortmund, including a diving save of Yan Couto’s shot and a point-blank stop of Serhou Guirassy’s header. That performance isn’t the highlight of his career — he also backstopped South Korea during their famous defeat of Germany at World Cup 2018 and won the gold medal at the Asian Games that same year — but the reigning MVP of the K League showed great mettle against a team that put his goal under siege.
Mamelodi Sundowns
Their goalless draw against Fluminense was not enough to advance them out of third place. Nevertheless, the Pretoria club were undeniably more impressive than some of the other eliminated teams. After their bonkers 4-3 defeat at the hands of Borussia Dortmund, they also showed they could play a close, tightly controlled game (if not win it) against a quality opponent. It was enough to make a few observers rethink their low opinion of African club soccer. Maybe it’s worth watching on its own rather than being a mere breeding ground for European giants.
FIFA Club World Cup Group Stage Losers
Atlético Madrid
It was already a rough season for los rojiblancos, but being eliminated after getting six points in the group stage? Even Tyrese Haliburton might be pitying them right now. They can blame that heavy defeat to Paris St.-Germain for their exit. The only positive to take from this is that their players can rest now while the front office focuses on the retooling they so desperately need for next season.
Inter Miami
Giving up two goals in the last 10 minutes didn’t just turn their win into a draw. It gave Palmeiras first place in Group A and now means that Inter have to face PSG in the knockout stage. Maybe this isn’t that bad; after all, Botafogo did beat the Parisians earlier in this tournament. Still, I don’t think you’ll find too many in that Miami dressing room who are happy about facing the firepower of the recent Champions League winners.
Éderson
Manchester City’s goalkeeper managed to thread his pass between two of his own defenders to Juventus’ Teun Koopmeiners, who wasted no time in beating Éderson inside his near post to equalize at 1-1. Fortunately for the Brazilian, Pierre Kalulu scored an own-goal into Juventus’ net a few minutes later to restore City’s lead.
Argentina
First Boca Juniors failed to beat an amateur side from a country that’s more famous for producing cricketers and rugby players. Their archrivals at River Plate must have been laughing, but not for long, as River lost in ignominious fashion to Inter Milan, with two red cards, their short-handed defense allowing Inter defender Alessandro Bastoni to slalom through their ranks before scoring, and fans hitting Denzel Dumfries with garbage as he went to the locker room after the game. The reigning World Cup champions have watched their best club teams crash out in the group stage, while Brazil has all four of their teams still alive.
Flamengo
Sometimes when you win, you lose. The Rio de Janeiro club topped Group D, and their reward will be a matchup with Bayern Munich, who finished second in Group C after slacking their way through a defeat to Benfica. The German champions’ offensive power might very well spell doom for the storied Brazilian side.