The Club World Cup is starting to enter its decisive phase. Once the group stage has been completed and with half of the quarterfinal matchups set, it is necessary to review what has happened so far and what is yet to come.
The round of 16 matchups that have already been played
After two days of knockout matches, the round of 16 has already confirmed its first teams advancing to the quarterfinals and, consequently, also its first teams eliminated.
The first match of this stage was between two Brazilian teams: Palmeiras and Botafogo. After a very hard-fought 90 minutes, Verdao finally managed to prevail in extra time thanks to Paulinho's goal in the 100th minute and is one of the South American representatives in the quarterfinals.
It is worth noting that Abel Ferreira's team will have the significant absence of Gustavo Gómez, who received a second yellow card in extra time and will miss the next match.
Later that same Saturday, Benfica and Chelsea were set to determine the opponent for the São Paulo team. For much of the match, the London side would show great dominance over the Portuguese, although they could only take the lead with a lone goal by James in the 64th minute.
Although it seemed nothing else would happen, the match had to be suspended in the 85th minute due to a possible thunderstorm. After a delay of almost two hours, the match was able to continue and delivered a surprise: Benfica equalized at the last moment thanks to a penalty converted by Ángel Di Maria.
The Portuguese team gained another chance thanks to Fideo's goal, however, their joy was short-lived, as at the start of extra time, Prestianni received a second yellow card, leaving the Eagles with one less player. From that moment on, Chelsea was the only team on the field and, in a burst during the second half of extra time, scored 3 goals (Nkunku in the 108th, Neto in the 114th, and Dewsbury-Hall in the 117th), sealing the match and securing their place in the quarterfinals, where they will face Palmeiras.
Unlike the first round of 16 matchups, yesterday's matches had two clear winners: Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich. As for the Champions League winners, they crushed Inter Miami led by Lionel Messi with a resounding 4-0, thanks to Neves's brace, Avilés's own goal, and Hakimi's goal, all in just the first half.
Meanwhile, Bayern faced a Flamengo side that managed to put up a fight, but ultimately succumbed in the end. The Bavarian team would quickly take the lead with two goals in the first 10 minutes: Eric Pulgar's own goal in the 6th and Harry Kane in the 9th. Although Fla would pull one back thanks to Gerson's powerful shot, the German team would restore their two-goal lead with Goretzka's goal before halftime.
With the need to chase the result, the Brazilian team began to attack a bit more, earning a penalty in the 55th minute that Jorginho converted into a goal. Although the 3-2 scoreline gave Flamengo some hope, the desperation to equalize left some gaps in defense, which Harry Kane took advantage of to make it 4-2. Now in the quarterfinals, Bayern will face PSG.
