Brazilian clubs fill the knockout bracket

SAO PAULO — One clear and unexpected force has materialized as the group stage of the Club World Cup comes to a close: Brazil.

Flamengo, Palmeiras, Botafogo and Fluminense — all recent Copa Libertadores winners — have advanced to the knockouts, each one going toe-to-toe with European powerhouses and exciting tens of millions of fans back home.

There's renewed hope after years of defeats against European teams in FIFA competitions.

Flamengo and Palmeiras topped their groups — Flamengo stunned Chelsea 3-1 to become the first team to qualify for the knockout rounds. Botafogo, which shocked Champions League winner Paris Saint-Germain, and Fluminense qualified in second place.

"Our first objective was the round-of-16, but that isn't the final objective," Fluminense midfielder Jhon Arias said Wednesday after his side's 0-0 draw with South Africa's Mamelodi Sundowns. All four clubs from Brazil have similar expectations for the knockout stage.

Botafogo and Palmeiras will face off on Saturday, a game that guarantees at least one Brazilian club a spot in the quarterfinals, and Flamengo takes on Bayern Munich on Sunday.

Fluminense, meanwhile, will face Champions League finalist Inter Milan on Tuesday.

Corinthians was the last Brazilian club to win the world club title, beating Chelsea in 2012.

That tournament format was much smaller than the current 32-team competition, which now features clubs from five continents.

New optimism

Reigning Copa Libertadores champion Botafogo produced the biggest group-stage upset with its June 19 win over PSG. Brazilian fans and soccer pundits had expected the French and European champion to bulldoze the Carioca side, which has had an up and down year.

"Botafogo was the team that best defended against us in the entire season," PSG coach Luis Enrique said. "They deserved it."

Two factors have helped Brazilian clubs: They're halfway through the season, unlike the European clubs which have already wrapped up their domestic schedules, and they're familiar with the kind of heat that has blanketed the tournament.

Still, Brazilian coaches, executives, players and fans weren't showing much optimism before the tournament began. That has also changed, as Flamengo fans showed in Philadelphia by chanting "the time is coming" for Bayern Munich, after the German club was confirmed as their next opponent.

"The cemetery of football is full of favorites," Botafogo coach Renato Paiva said after his side's victory over the European champion. "Almost nobody can openly face PSG. Could I try that? I could, but that was a big risk in a competition of this kind."

Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca said he wasn't surprised by his team's loss to Flamengo. The Brazilians controlled the match and had nine shots on goal compared with just four from the English club.

Atletico Madrid's late 1-0 win over Botafogo was the only defeat for a Brazilian club in the group stage.

South American power

Brazilian teams are so competitive in South America that they have won the past six editions of the Copa Libertadores, five finals of which have been all-Brazilian affairs.

Much of that success comes from attracting talent from all over South America, as has happened at the Club World Cup.

The Brazilian league attracts young footballers from across the region, before they move elsewhere for money and more prestige. But, some choose to stay and grow in a tough league outside of Europe, with up to six serious contenders for the trophy every year.

Flamengo playmaker Giorgian de Arrascaeta is Uruguayan. Botafogo's key player is Venezuela's Jefferson Savarino. Fluminense highly depends on Colombian Arias, while Palmeiras is trusting that Argentina's Flaco Lopez has a few more goals in him.

None of them have ever played in Europe.

"Many good things in soccer history come from South America," Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola said Sunday.

"The greatest players come from there."

Several Brazilian clubs have also successfully incorporated Portuguese coaches into their setups.

Paiva took over Botafogo from his countryman Artur Jorge.

Meanwhile, Abel Ferreira has won almost every title with Palmeiras since he joined the club in 2020.

"I am very proud to be in Brazil. I had many chances to leave, and I did not," Ferreira said at the start of the tournament.

Asked how big the gap is between his team and European clubs, Ferreira said: "It is minimal. We have to compete."

The knockout stage of the Club World Cup will tell whether he is right.

Agencies via Xinhua