SportsPosted at: Jun 28 2025 7:08PM


Eight takeaways from the FIFA Club World Cup group stage

New York, June 28 (UNI) The group stage of the FIFA Club World Cup brought drama, late goals, surprise results and standout individual performances.

Some of the tournament favorites advanced with ease while others stumbled early and never recovered. A handful of emerging talents made their mark and attendances fluctuated from sellouts to near-empty stands.

Here are eight key takeaways from the opening phase.

Best players
Arguably the player to have made the biggest impact so far is Juventus winger Kenan Yildiz. The 20-year-old Turkiye international is the competition's joint top scorer with three goals and has also registered two assists. He provided one of the few positives for Juventus in its 5-2 loss to Manchester City, coming off the bench to deliver a sublime assist for Dusan Vlahovic.

Paris Saint-Germain's Vitinha also stamped his class on the group stage and was the standout player in his team's 4-0 win over Atletico Madrid with a midfield masterclass that included a brilliant first-half strike.
Others to shine so far include Al Ahly's Palestinian striker Wessam Abou Ali, who netted a hat trick against Porto, and Colombian winger Jhon Arias, a driving force for Fluminense. Manchester City's resurgent midfielder Phil Foden and Benfica veteran Angel Di Maria have also been influential.

Best match

Few would disagree that the most entertaining match was the 4-4 draw between Al Ahly and Porto in New Jersey. Abou Ali's hat-trick and Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane's second-half strike weren't enough as Porto matched the Egyptian champions goal for goal. Rodrigo Mora, William Gomes, Samu Aghehowa and Pepe all scored for the Portuguese club.
The result proved irrelevant, with both teams bowing out by virtue of the 2-2 draw between Inter Miami and Palmeiras.

Other matches that stood out included the 2-2 draw between Boca Juniors and Benfica and Borussia Dortmund's 4-3 win over Mamelodi Sundowns.

Brightest talents

At just 18, Palmeiras forward Estevao has shown he is ready to step up to the elite level with back-to-back player of the match awards against Porto and Al Ahly. The Brazil international will join Chelsea in July and he looks ready to feature in Enzo Maresca's first-team plans from the outset.
Estevao's compatriot Igor Jesus, while six years his senior, has also emerged as one to watch for Botafogo. Jesus struck the winner in Botafogo's 1-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain and was also on target in the Rio de Janeiro club's opening 2-1 victory over Seattle Sounders.

Having made his international debut last year, Jesus appears certain to be part of Brazil manager Carlo Ancelotti's 2026 World Cup plans.

Other young players to make an impact include Manchester City's Claudio Echeverri, Al-Hilal's Marcos Leonardo and Salzburg midfielder Oscar Gloukh.

Biggest surprise
Undoubtedly the biggest shock of the tournament so far was Botafogo's 1-0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain. The reigning Brazilian and Copa Libertadores champions neutralized the 2025 Champions League winners with a disciplined defensive display, as Igor Jesus' 36th-minute goal proved enough to secure a memorable result.

After the match, PSG manager Luis Enrique said Botafogo's defense was the best his team had faced this season.

Other surprise results included Flamengo's 3-1 victory over Chelsea, Inter Miami's 2-1 win over Porto and Auckland City's 1-1 draw with Argentine giants Boca Juniors.
Biggest disappointment

Atletico Madrid's group-stage exit has been one of the tournament's biggest upsets. Despite finishing level on six points with PSG and Botafogo in Group B, Diego Simeone's men were eliminated on head-to-head goal difference after a 4-0 opening loss to the Parisians.

A 1-0 win over Botafogo in the final group match wasn't enough to overturn the deficit, leaving the Spanish club third in the group and out of the knockout rounds.

It marked a disappointing end to a season in which Atletico also fell short in La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Champions League.

Brazilian success
All four Brazilian clubs - Palmeiras, Botafogo, Flamengo, and Fluminense - advanced to the round of 16, showcasing the depth and competitive intensity of the country's domestic football.

Palmeiras topped Group A unbeaten while Botafogo stunned Paris Saint-Germain in Group B. Flamengo's victory over Chelsea helped the Rio club top Group D and Fluminense progressed from Group F after taking five points from three matches.

Together, the four sides finished the group stage with six wins and just eight goals conceded.

Argentine doldrums

Despite drawing large crowds to their matches, Argentine giants River Plate and Boca Juniors fell short of expectations.

After beating Urawa Red Diamonds in its opener, River managed only a goalless draw with Monterrey before losing 2-0 to Inter Milan.

In addition to questions over discipline - the Buenos Aires side received three red cards in its last two games - River struggled to get the best out of Real Madrid-bound teenager Franco Mastantuono, who found little space to operate.

Boca fared even worse than its arch-rival, going winless and finishing its campaign with a 1-1 draw against the semi-professional Auckland City.
Crowd figures

The highest turnout of the group stage came at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, where 80,619 spectators watched Paris Saint-Germain dismantle Atletico Madrid.

Elsewhere, matches featuring Al Ahly, Al-Hilal, Pachuca, Inter Miami, Palmeiras and Real Madrid each drew crowds exceeding 60,000.

The lowest attendance was for the Ulsan-Mamelodi Sundowns clash in Orlando on June 17, which drew just 3,412 spectators.
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