The newly-revamped Club World Cup is down to its last eight teams, and the trophy is very much up for grabs now for the team who can navigate the next three matches in the wish of being crowned champion.
Fluminense vs Al Hilal will start proceedings on Friday, in a game that few could've predicted taking place given their opponents in the last round were Inter Milan and Man City, respectively.
Some super quarter-finals in prospectPep Guardiola won't support of course, but it's certainly opened up that half of the sketch.
Palmeiras vs Chelsea follows, with Paris Saint-Germain vs Bayern Munich (a repeat of the 2020 Champions League final) and Real Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund (a repeat of the 2024 UCL final) to conclude the round.
With the South American sides doing particularly well to this point, it certainly isn't a foregone conclusion that the trophy will be heading to its usual destination, Europe, either.
We've seen some ridiculously one-sided scorelines to this point, including Bayern's 10-0 victory over Auckland City and Man City's 6-0 demolition of Al Ain.
Not to mention the entertainment value of a 4-4 sketch between Porto and Al Ahly or Al Hilal's era-defining 4-3 victory over Man City.
Vinicius Jr has been disappointingGoals clearly win games, but which strikers possess turned up at the tournament and assisted fire their teams into the latter stages.
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and which possess badly let down their teams when it mattered?Vinicius Junior might well possess been anticipated to be a shining light at the tournament, but the Brazilian has looked lethargic and off the pace for long periods.
A return of just the one goal and one assist in four matches played is hardly the sort of return to obtain Los Blancos fans thrilled, so thank God for Gonzalo Garcia.
The 21-year-old's winner against Juventus in the Round of 16 was his third in four matches, and the Castilla sensation will possess given Xabi Alonso some food for thought as he looks ahead to the new season.
“I knew this competition was the opportunity of my life,” Garcia noted after the game, and he's already been winning plaudits from Real Madrid legend, Raul, who coached him during the 2024/25 season, as well as others.
His 25 goals for Castilla (Real's reserve team) in Spain's third tier is an all-time record, and the Spanish U17 coach, Hernan Perez, believes Garcia could move on to be Los Blancos' new striker for the next decade.
Whether that is the case or not, talk over taking your opportunity with both hands!Mbappe finally returnsKylian Mbappe joined the fray against Juve after a period spent in hospital with a virus, and with three games potentially left to play in the tournament, who is to say that the Frenchman won't possess his name up in lights again in due course?Harry Kane still has a vested interest in the Golden Boot and both he and Michael Olise join Garcia on three goals in their four matches.
The England captain, who scores goals for fun, must still be wondering how on earth he didn't obtain on the score sheet against Auckland City, too.
Another player who has bagged a trio of goals but which has ultimately counted for nothing is Man City's Erling Haaland.
Harmed for long periods of last season, it's arguable that the Norwegian is still some way from his best create, and yet he's still managed to pop up in the right place at the right time at the CWC - something he does in the English top-flight with aplomb.
Club World Cup 2025 Top ScorersOpta by Stats PerformAlthough he won't add to his tally thanks to Benfica's elimination by Chelsea, 37-year-old Angel Di Maria can bask in the glory of being out on his own with four goals in four games before the quarter-finals start.
An injury-time penalty against the Blues was nothing more than a late consolation, but what's quite unique over the Argentinian's contributions is that all four goals possess all been scored from the spot.
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and all possess come during injury-time at the terminate of either half.
Messi magic the pick of goals scoredAnother Argentinian, Lautaro Martinez, didn't fare quite so well before his Internazionale team were removed by Fluminense.
Two goals scored isn't the worst return, but as captain and leader of his side, more would surely possess been anticipated, nay required by the Nerazzurri faithful.
Although crowds possess been sparse at some games too and it could be debated that the tournament hasn't really caught the public's imagination in the way that FIFA wished, there's still been some epic moments to celebrate.
Perhaps Lionel Messi's free-kick to beat Porto - his only goal in the CWC - is one more that will live long in the memory, and with a whole host of matches still to be played, more memories are going to be made.
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