⚽ FIFA Club World Cup 2025 - USA: Discussion Thread ⚽

[Mayor of ogba]

One funny fact about Fluminense vs Al-Hilal : More Brazilians scored for Al-Hilal instead of Fluminense which is crazy  but also impressive for team like Al-Hilal who is having quite a great team. That's why I do believe they will make a comeback in 2nd half and score at least once to push game into extra time or twice to actually win in 90th minutes. 

Al hilal was losing at halftime but i think overall they are better and they scored off the bat and now its 1-1 and i agree that Al Hilal can turn this around i think they are better then Fluminense . I have a bet for Al Hilal to win so i think they can turn this around by the end

With the way Al-Hilal was dominating Fluminense in the first half, I was expecting Al-Hilal to take the lead in the first half. I was surprised when Fluminense capitalized on the mistake of the Al-Hilal defender to take the lead in the first half because I didn't expect them to score a goal in the first half. I was confident enough that Al-Hilal was going to score back in the second half, which they did, but Fluminense scored another goal to retake their lead in the second.

[Unsoldier]

Don't you think Chelsea must have learnt a severe lesson from their previous defeat to flamengo and would make all necessary adjustment to avoid something like that to happen again and moreover flamengo is probably the strongest team in the Brazilian league so their is that fact, so Chelsea might just have the upper hand in defeating them.

The problem y'all have is that you underestimate these teams and expect too much from a game, only to get disappointed with it. Chelsea shouldn't have lost to the flamengos then if that was the case -- but the truth is, we still don't know how well they've adjusted/ how penetrable their opponents defense will be.

Brazilian teams are built different and for whatever it takes, they'll score goals if they had to. I feel like Chelsea is not in the right form to go past this phase in this competition. I don't wanna lie to myself, but we can all see the pattern of play -- unless it takes a different shape tomorrow, Palmeiras will win and qualify.

These two actually met in the 2022 Club World Cup final — Chelsea edged it in extra time after a 1–1 draw in regular time. Different squads and a different stage now, but still an evenly matched tie.

Both sides needed extra time to get through the last round, and with key players missing — Gomez for Palmeiras, Caicedo for Chelsea — I expect a close, physical battle. Chelsea already lost to Flamengo earlier in the tournament, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Palmeiras knocks them out here.

[uneng]

Congratulations, Fluminense. Well played match against Al Hilal. After all, you don't have to have superior players, neither superior skills to reach the semi-finals, rather you need an efficient strategy, besides players who play with passion and will for the entire 90 minutes of the game. Fluminense showed it has what it takes to be among the toughest ones. They are officially among the best 4 clubs of the world and they deserved it! I hope you reach the finals, good luck!

[Egii Nna]

One funny fact about Fluminense vs Al-Hilal : More Brazilians scored for Al-Hilal instead of Fluminense which is crazy  but also impressive for team like Al-Hilal who is having quite a great team. That's why I do believe they will make a comeback in 2nd half and score at least once to push game into extra time or twice to actually win in 90th minutes. 

Al hilal was losing at halftime but i think overall they are better and they scored off the bat and now its 1-1 and i agree that Al Hilal can turn this around i think they are better then Fluminense . I have a bet for Al Hilal to win so i think they can turn this around by the end

With the way Al-Hilal was dominating Fluminense in the first half, I was expecting Al-Hilal to take the lead in the first half. I was surprised when Fluminense capitalized on the mistake of the Al-Hilal defender to take the lead in the first half because I didn't expect them to score a goal in the first half. I was confident enough that Al-Hilal was going to score back in the second half, which they did, but Fluminense scored another goal to retake their lead in the second.

One of the things that affected Al Hilal’s performance today was their defense, because it was not that strong compared to the defense of Fluminense. Just take a look at how it was very hard for Al Hilal to even get a shot on target. I was having hope that Al Hilal would win in the second half, but everything changed, and the game has already come to an end, with Fluminense able to win the game with a score of 2-1.

It’s painful to see Al Hilal, the team I was expecting to reach the final or even the semifinal, get knocked out in the quarterfinals. Although, that is why it’s called football, anything can happen. But this result pains me a lot, because I bet on Al Hilal to win the game, but they lost, and I also lost my money.

[GiftedMAN]

Congratulations, Fluminense. Well played match against Al Hilal. After all, you don't have to have superior players, neither superior skills to reach the semi-finals, rather you need an efficient strategy, besides players who play with passion and will for the entire 90 minutes of the game. Fluminense showed it has what it takes to be among the toughest ones. They are officially among the best 4 clubs of the world and they deserved it! I hope you reach the finals, good luck!

Fluminense has proven that football is not played with the mouth rather you need experience and creativity to make it happen and tonight they once again prove the bookmarkers wrong by taking the lead in first half, Al Hilal came back I nthe game in the second but again Fluminense got the winning goal to outshine and knock them out of the competition. Fluminense has proven that the Brazilian league is a different league that is full of talents no wonder they are people conside them a the football made easy.

[Joca97]

Congratulations, Fluminense. Well played match against Al Hilal. After all, you don't have to have superior players, neither superior skills to reach the semi-finals, rather you need an efficient strategy, besides players who play with passion and will for the entire 90 minutes of the game. Fluminense showed it has what it takes to be among the toughest ones. They are officially among the best 4 clubs of the world and they deserved it! I hope you reach the finals, good luck!

Fluminense has proven that football is not played with the mouth rather you need experience and creativity to make it happen and tonight they once again prove the bookmarkers wrong by taking the lead in first half, Al Hilal came back I nthe game in the second but again Fluminense got the winning goal to outshine and knock them out of the competition. Fluminense has proven that the Brazilian league is a different league that is full of talents no wonder they are people conside them a the football made easy.

Huge win by Fluminense and now they are in the semi final and i think they can reach the final if they play football like this. I wouldnt have thinked that they would even pass the group and they made history with this win. Nobody expected from them to come this far and they did it.

[Issa56]

My stakes are on them to score more goals. I don't really care who wins at the end, if they can score 4 goals overall, then I'll be just fine by that.

Unfortunately they couldn’t score 4 goals in the match, the match ended as 2-1, and the overall goals scored in the match is just 3 goals. I never expected so many goals in the match, I was expecting a team to win with a slight goal difference, and that was just what happened in the match.  

Most people expected Al Halal to get a win in the match, but surprisingly Al Halal were able to score just 1 goal in the match, they had chances in the match, but they missed all, and were able to score just a goal. Seriously I was also thinking Al Halal will be able to win, but am not really surprise with the result of the match, so people underestimated Fluminense in the match, and they surprised lots of people.

[red4slash]

With the way Al-Hilal was dominating Fluminense in the first half, I was expecting Al-Hilal to take the lead in the first half. I was surprised when Fluminense capitalized on the mistake of the Al-Hilal defender to take the lead in the first half because I didn't expect them to score a goal in the first half. I was confident enough that Al-Hilal was going to score back in the second half, which they did, but Fluminense scored another goal to retake their lead in the second.

The match ended and Al Hilal had to admit that they lost this match and had to be willing to be eliminated from this event.

The match that I think is very worthy of the quarter finals because both clubs provide a very interesting treat, especially the tension of the game that does not even ease until the end makes it a good thing.

For the winner, it has been a little difficult since the beginning, although most are more inclined to Al Hilal because they managed to beat Manchester City before, but in the end the final result for this match belongs to Fluminense and they advance to the semi-finals.
Just waiting for another Brazilian representative who will meet Chelsea in a few hours, whether in the end Palmeiras can give another surprise or Chelsea will qualify for the semi-finals in this club world cup.

[KTChampions]

Huge win by Fluminense and now they are in the semi final and i think they can reach the final if they play football like this. I wouldnt have thinked that they would even pass the group and they made history with this win. Nobody expected from them to come this far and they did it.

If Al-Hilal had won, the same could have been written, and by the way, both teams rightfully got this far - Inter and City were beaten. Now, most likely, Fluminense will play Chelsea in the semi-finals, which is also a very realistic goal. Will Fluminense really reach the final? I don't even know if I want it because in that part of the way there are only strong teams left (if we exclude Dortmund) and with Fluminense in the final the odds will be too big. Although Chelsea won't be a big problem for Real/PSG either.

[$weetne$$]

Yeah, coming to the realisation that this competition has also thought me not to always believe that it's the bigger team that will emerge victorious. So many games here has shown us that we should brace up for uncertainty because we will still see it so long as this competition is concerned. The South American teams has really shown zeal and commitment, even the only Saudi side that's left has also made a statement of fact that they can't be overlooked anymore. Sooner or later we will see them competing against the very best teams in the world.

Usually, I am used to be of the opinion that whenever there is a fixture between two big teams, the small team is most often going to loose than the big team. Seeing what happened between this two teams earlier today gave me a reason to understand anything is possible in football,  both teams are even good teams, there is this possibility that the least expected team will be seen at the finals of the tournament and it will surprise many, I will not be surprised if I see a team like flumerese getting to the finals just like the Saudi side was able to make it to this point.

[Sandra_hakeem]

I can't help but give them their flowers -- in the extra time, it was as though I had to hold my breath for anything strange to happen for an equalizer/ more damage either way. I love how Al hilal were able to flow in the same pattern, holding down the game, trying to create chances upon chances just before the final whistle.

It shows the importance of one-mindedness in a team, otherwise they would have had their scores counting in bigger numbers. Big congratulations to Fluminense on their new promotion to the semifinals -- Oh just as nobody thought they would be able to push themselves to secure a spot in the semi-finals, I'd love to watch either of the two Brazilian teams in the counter spots making it to the finals!

[blomen]

i was really hopeful that al-hilal would make it to the semifinals. i thought they were a bit inept. fluminense's main strikers didn't even play a ball. fluminense's goals were scored by martinelli and hercules who came on as a substitute for him. although they were the dominant side for most of the second half, they didn't score, and i think that's why al-hilal lost the game. overall they were in possession.

if chelsea are the team that goes to the semifinals as expected from the match that will start in a few hours, they will probably go to the final and lose to the team they face in the final. tomorrow night's matches will be much more enjoyable.

[Callido]

Huge win by Fluminense and now they are in the semi final and i think they can reach the final if they play football like this. I wouldnt have thinked that they would even pass the group and they made history with this win. Nobody expected from them to come this far and they did it.

Club World Cup appears interesting like i never imagined. Fluminense won but Al Hilal did absolutely well, they deserve the share of money for reaching this stage, it wasn't by luck they competed in the quarter final after battling top teams, only one team needs to advance to the semi final and Fluminense made their way. What will the semi final look like, Chelsea or Palmeiras.

[Adbitco]

Brazil is known to be part of the history of football and I expected such performance from them compared to the Saudis who just realized that football is a good sport to invest in to become popular in the world. If not for Ronaldo, we wouldn't know about SPL. I am surprised at their level of commitment and improvement by Al Hilal to be in good quality with other football nations who have been existing for long.

Again, another uncertainty comes to play again, all my thinking was that Al Hilal will be going to the semis and that was my prediction bout at the same time, I didn't overrule that the Brazilian team might come out on top today. This club world cup has really broken the protocol of the bookies to win. Talking about the Saudi league, yes most people knew about it after the arrival of Ronaldo in the country and frankly that was even when the league started getting relevance, but I believe it will still get better.

[Raflesia]

Huge win by Fluminense and now they are in the semi final and i think they can reach the final if they play football like this. I wouldnt have thinked that they would even pass the group and they made history with this win. Nobody expected from them to come this far and they did it.

Looking at Fluminense's performance they were a bit unexpected and I think it would have been a bit difficult to predict them being in this phase (semi-finals) from the start because after all we must be aware that the focus is mostly on clubs from Europe.

For the semi-finals it is still possible but of course we have to look at the opponents that will be faced first because after all, most likely their opponent will be Chelsea and of course this will not be an easy matter for Fluminense later.
But even so now there is a good chance for Fluminense especially if they can continue to maintain their current playing conditions then the final is still possible to happen for them even though the longer it is clear the opponents they will face are getting stronger.

[Mayor of ogba]

Congratulations, Fluminense. Well played match against Al Hilal. After all, you don't have to have superior players, neither superior skills to reach the semi-finals, rather you need an efficient strategy, besides players who play with passion and will for the entire 90 minutes of the game. Fluminense showed it has what it takes to be among the toughest ones. They are officially among the best 4 clubs of the world and they deserved it! I hope you reach the finals, good luck!

Fluminense has proven that football is not played with the mouth rather you need experience and creativity to make it happen and tonight they once again prove the bookmarkers wrong by taking the lead in first half, Al Hilal came back I nthe game in the second but again Fluminense got the winning goal to outshine and knock them out of the competition. Fluminense has proven that the Brazilian league is a different league that is full of talents no wonder they are people conside them a the football made easy.

I was rooting for Al-Hilal to win against Fluminense, but it was Fluminense that beat Al-Hilal and advanced to the quarterfinal, which shows Fluminense is long prepared for this tournament, and they have what it takes to win against any club they meet in the Club World Cup tournament. Al-Hilal was the favorite to win this match; even the bookmakers know that, but Fluminense has proven that sometimes odds don't determine the outcome of a match. Brazil is known as a football nation, and it's not today that Brazilian clubs started performing well, so Fluminense is destined to perform well.

[Cryptoprincess101]

i was really hopeful that al-hilal would make it to the semifinals. i thought they were a bit inept. fluminense's main strikers didn't even play a ball. fluminense's goals were scored by martinelli and hercules who came on as a substitute for him. although they were the dominant side for most of the second half, they didn't score, and i think that's why al-hilal lost the game. overall they were in possession.

After all, Al Hilal was just overhyped just because they manage to play draw against Real Madrid and eliminated Manchester City in the round of 16 but in the end, Fluminense ended their unbeaten run in the FIFA Club world cup by winning 2:1. Fluminense attacks are very dangerous, and their coach really knew what he wants by substituting Martinelli who scored the first goal and bringing forth Hercules to score the second goal which means Hercules continued from where Martinelli stopped. Despite Al Hilal's dominance in the match Fluminense humbled them and advance into the semis.

if chelsea are the team that goes to the semifinals as expected from the match that will start in a few hours, they will probably go to the final and lose to the team they face in the final. tomorrow night's matches will be much more enjoyable.

Chelsea must be careful when they meet Palmeiras because these Brazilians teams are not smiling at all, Chelsea should try and capitalize on scoring early goals and be more forceful in their attacks if they must win Palmeiras because if they allow Palmeiras to win them and advance to the semifinals, either of the Brazilians teams can win the trophy. By this time tomorrow, the results of the quarter final matches will all be known except that Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund match enters into extra time.

[Ryu_Ar1]

Now that we're in the quarter-finals, we shouldn't underestimate any club because in the end those who have reached this stage have clearly shown a good thing even for clubs that were previously not even seeded as for SPL clubs and leagues in America.

So now Madrid and Dortmund are the same, although Madrid still have the advantage in terms of favorites, but still this cannot be a benchmark because Xabi clearly has to give his best in this match if he wants to qualify for the next phase.
Xabi already knows how Dortmund have performed in the past when he was at Leverkusen so he can already formulate what he needs to do. On the other hand, Mbappe is also quite ready at the moment, although giving Garcia some game time is good enough but having Mbappe around will definitely give Madrid a better boost.

For PSG they are still in good condition but indeed this is another big match for them so of course they must be really serious when facing Bayern.

Mbappe played for 25 minutes last game if I remember that correctly and he missed all the other Club World Cup games. I don't see him as being quite ready in regards to the practice he had so far at this event. They wouldn't let him play if he wasn't healthy again I suppose, but I don't know if they want him to play full time or prefer to give him a rest for at least one halftime again. Alonso would prefer Mbappe to fit for the next season rather than risking it now.

The impression that Alonso knows what Dortmund is going to do because he coached Leverkusen in the Bundesliga isn't quite viable. It is not like Dortmund has three moves per game and now Alonso knows them. It is more about player specifics and while some are known to him from the Bundesliga time, he would study the opponent anyway and understand what to expect if he doesn't know a team. It is more about being prepared for what you don't know yet but could potentially happen than for the things you are already aware of.

On this level I think no team seriously getting surprised by a tactic or what a player does. It is all out there and teams know each other very well regardless of whether they play in the same league or not. You could notice a small difference at this Club World Cup because there were many teams that were truly unknown to some of us.

He's only just recovered from a few weeks of fitness problems so it's fair to say that his Club World Cup debut in the Round of 16 didn't play a significant role but that's not to say that he didn't play a significant role because either way, once he's recovered, it's great news for Madrid.

Although what you say may be true, there is certainly a rough idea of how Dortmund will move and this could be a good thing for how Xabi will be able to scheme according to what is expected.
Club World Cup matches can be a little difficult to predict as some of us may be unfamiliar with clubs from Asia or America but when European clubs are the ones we watch play, the rough idea is always there although the final result depends on how they play on the pitch.

[Sexylizzy2813]

I bet a little bit on Chelsea,, I am very confident that I will win today's match. If Palmeiras wins, it will give a lot of return here, but the probability of this is very low, and if Chelsea can attack strongly against them, then it is possible to win. Palmeiras's performance in the game is very good, but the victory will depend on how good their performance is against a strong team like Chelsea. And I have a long-standing belief that Chelsea will win today's match and they will enter the semi-finals from the quarter-finals, and I will win my bet.

When I saw the odd on the above picture something else entered my mind, that this might be the last game Chelsea are going to play in this competition and I also have that feeling that Palmeiras are going to dominate this game to the end. Is good to stay positive whenever we stake a game but let's check the players in the squad of the Blues, who has been the solid rock on that team? Caicedo.
Caicedo won't be in action tomorrow and that would be a problem for the team, this has been the main man that put an end to almost every attacking force from oppositions and now he won't be in action. I think the midfield will be too exposed and I expect Palmeiras to get a win...2-1 or 3-1 in favor of the Brazilian side.

Anything can happen because this is football, Chelsea have their own side to cover the same way with Palmeiras, we cant decide yet who to win, despite we can also predict from how the match may be going, but before the end, anything can happen, if we bet on any game, we should be careful of the loss that may come along.

Talking about Caicedo, we should not take his absent for anything, because I've seen a number of occasions whereby the key player or striker being absent does not cause any loss to the entre team, once they were able to work along together as a team with other team members, they can still have the chance of winning and it may also not come that way, depending on their mentality from the start with the absence of Caicedo

I agree with you that losing is part of the game and in betting games we should be aware of losing and when happens we should know how to handle it, the higher the risk the higher the outcome but which ever way let it be that we have a winning written on our tickets.
That's true, in football anything can happen and it can be that Chelsea can still lose because they do lack something very important to them ( who to play the DM properly), even their defense is not as solid as they think, let's be honest here, they are managing and Maresca doesn't know who's fit to be a regular starter in the Central back, the switcing or should I say the changing of CB every game is too much, like he's confused on who to start if is Tosin and Colwil or Colwil and Chaloba, like he needs to have the best 2 to start.
The reason why I feel Caicedo's absence might cost Chelsea the game is because if you see how they play and you remove Caicedo you can't see the amount of work he does from anybody that is playing his position, that area still looks empty which is not suppose to be so.
From what you said is suppose to be so for a team to play well when the key player isn't available but you can't apply that thinking to Chelsea as a team, they have more of defenders, attacking midfielders and attackers but we hardly see anyone who plays that defensive midfield role and is something they need to be worried about in the next 3hrs/before kick off, so I'd still see Chelsea losing this game unless their style of play is a bit balanced in defending part especially.

[nelson4lov]

I just knew that Fluminense won and advanced to the semi finals. I kinda knew they would win because Al-Hilal isn't a strong contender at least not against Fluminense. I'd say they even won Man City by luck. Compared to Al-Hilal, Man city would've been a worthy opponent  to face Fluminense in this tie but it is what it is.

My only regret is leaving money on the table by not placing a bet on tonight's game even though I knew they won win or at least get a draw at full time if t