The second group-stage match of the Club World Cup featured a lot less chalk, which is how we like it. The stage is set for chaos when the groups wind up, but right now, let’s see which of the giants took a tumble and who made them fall.
Club World Cup winners
Inter Miami
I would have figured on one of the South American teams being the first to take down a European squad, but the schedule meant that Inter Miami got there first with their 2-1 comeback win over Porto. It was deserved, too — while announcer Andrés Cantor may have seen better days, you could believe him when he said that Inter looked like the better team in the second half. When Lionel Messi lined up for his free kick in the 53rd minute from just outside the D, the resulting goal was every bit as predictable as hurricanes hitting Florida’s coast. A draw in their remaining game against Palmeiras will see them through to the knockout stage.
Brazilian teams
Miami were joined by Botafogo, who must be wondering why the European sides had such problems with Paris St.-Germain after beating the newly crowned Champions League winners. Botafogo goalkeeper John (that’s it, just the one name for him) made a couple of great saves, but the Rio de Janeiro club did well to limit the chances for an insipid PSG.
That massive upset was followed by a scarcely less huge win for Flamengo, after Chelsea’s 1-0 lead came apart in seven minutes in the second half, with a quick fire brace of goals that were headed across Robert Sanchez’ goal and Nicolas Jackson receiving a straight red card for a potential leg-breaking foul on Ayrton Lucas. Meanwhile, Flamengo’s archrivals Fluminense avoided what would have been a cringe-inducing defeat to Ulsan HD and erased a deficit to beat the South Korean side. Palmeiras’ defeat of Al-Ahly was routine except for the weather delay at MetLife Stadium. All four teams might be in the final 16.
Miguel Merentiel
Boca Juniors’ attacker and captain for the day scored a spectacular goal against Bayern Munich when he got around the back of Jonathan Tah to run onto Alan Velasco’s through ball, then skipped inside Josip Stanišić to finish past Manuel Neuer. It wasn’t enough to prevent Boca from losing (which now leaves them with an uphill climb to get out of the group stage), but it was a great goal for the Uruguayan.
Cristian Chivu
With Inter Milan down 1-0 to a goal by Urawa Red Diamonds’ Ryoma Watanabe and facing thousands of rabid Urawa fans who packed the stands at Seattle’s Lumen Field, the new manager’s 72nd-minute double substitution turned the game for the nerazzurri, as Lautaro Martínez bicycle-kicked Nicolò Barella’s corner kick in for the equalizer a few minutes later and substitute Valentin Carboni put home a rebound in stoppage time to win it and eliminate the brave Japanese side.
Simone Inzaghi
He left Inter Milan for another team that wears blue and black jerseys, Al-Hilal, and so far he has managed two draws against European opponents, even if the goalless one against RB Salzburg wasn’t as awesome as the 1-1 draw to Real Madrid. If Coach Inzaghi grabs a win against Pachuca, the Saudi side just might progress out of the group stage. They couldn’t pull that off, could they?
Club World Cup losers
Auckland City
It is more than 8,200 miles from Auckland to Cincinnati, where City played their first match. There are no direct flights, so the airplane trip takes somewhere around 19 hours. The New Zealand side must be wondering why they bothered with such a long trip, since they have now conceded 16 goals in two matches against Bayern and Benfica, and the Portuguese side could have easily had more with better finishing. Other sides in the New Zealand Regional League are probably thinking that they could have done better than being the real-life equivalent of the team you beat up on in EA FC when you want to feel better about yourself. Given that their remaining match is against Boca Juniors, I wouldn’t bet on them snatching a face-saving win, either.
LAFC
Losing to Chelsea is one thing, but ES Tunis? Espérance are the current leaders of the Tunisian league, it’s true. Still, there’s no way they should beat a team with World Cup winners Hugo Lloris and Olivier Giroud. LAFC had a chance to pull out the draw when referee Espen Eskas awarded the home team a penalty in stoppage time, but Gabonese striker Denis Bouanga shot it right at goalkeeper Bechir Ben Saïd. Besides eliminating the Angelenos from the tournament, the game dished out embarrassment to MLS and to the L.A. fans, who were outnumbered by fans wearing the Tunisians’ jerseys. (Officially, those colors are supposed to be blood and gold, but I say they’re ketchup and mustard.) Regardless of their result against Flamengo, this is a face-plant of a performance for FC.
Seattle Sounders
Unlike Auckland, the Sounders did have some moments when they gave their opponents trouble, but their losses to Botafogo and Atlético Madrid mean that they now need the most unlikely of victories over Paris St.-Germain to stay alive in the tournament. It’s going to be back to domestic soccer for them pretty soon, I think.
Mamelodi Sundowns
The South African team who call themselves “the Brazilians” took a surprising lead over Borussia Dortmund thanks to a 3-on-0 breakaway finished by an actual Brazilian, Lucas Ribeiro. However, their determination to play the ball out from the back led directly to Dortmund’s first three goals, as Sundowns goalkeeper Ronwen Williams gave the ball straight to Felix Nmecha to pass into his net, then midfielder Aubrey Modiba got muscled off the ball to lead to Serhou Guirassy’s go-ahead goal, and then a turnover at the halfway line ended with a goal by Jobe Bellingham. (He’s Jude Bellingham’s brother). Mamelodi clawed back two goals to make the final score 4-3 and make the match one of the most entertaining ones of the group stage. They’ll likely need a win over Fluminense to survive.
Wydad SC and Al-Ain
In the most predictable result of the group stage, the Moroccan team and the Emirati side have been eliminated by Manchester City and Juventus in Group G. They’ll be playing each other for pride on Thursday.