CONMEBOL, the governing body for South American football, will be delighted with how its six representatives have performed in the opening round of the FIFA 2025 Club World Cup. Six South American teams all avoided defeat in the first round of fixtures.
Argentina Exceeding Expectations
It's fair to say that the South American teams have surprised the world in match day one of the group stage.
Boca Juniors draw against Benfica was a stand out result for sure. The team from Buenos Aires even led the Portuguese giants 2-0 but were ironically pegged back by two goals from Argentinians Ángel Di María and Nicolás Otamendi in the second period. However the result gives Boca a real chance of progressing from the group and nobody predicted that.
River Plate got the job done against Urawa Red Diamonds from Japan. At times it wasn't pretty but in the end a relatively comfortable 3-1 victory means River Plate has started the group well and can still dream of taking on Inter Milan and Monterrey for first place in the group. A 1-1 draw between those two teams means if River can defeat Monterrey in the next match they guarantee a place in the round of 16.
A Fine Start From Brazil
Botafogo and Flamengo defeated North American and African opposition respectively. Both results were probably expected but they were absolutely necessary for these teams going forward. This tournament needs South American sides in the latter rounds. For the on-field energy and off-field atmosphere. Any slip up now would be devastating.
Botafogo could easily have conceded an equaliser late on against Seattle Sounders. This would have been a disaster in a group with PSG and Atlético de Madrid, but the team prevailed and now will search for a result against the European champions. Flamengo will hope to breeze past LAFC and take on Chelsea for a chance to finish top of the group.
Palmeiras played out an exciting 0-0 draw against Porto in New York at the weekend. It was a miracle that they didn't put the ball in the back of the net, but that result also means they can still top the group ahead of the likes of Inter Miami and Al Ahly who didn't look so convincing in the tournament opener.
Finally, Fluminense exchanged blows with Borussia Dortmund of Germany and very nearly came out on top. In the end the Rio team will accept a point against top European opposition. 0-0 is a solid result to start the campaign and 'Flu' will be favourites in their remaining group matches against African and Asian opponents.
Advantage South America
Before the tournament we wondered which South American teams could reach the round of 16, but now we are talking about if all of them can, and perhaps how many can do so as group winners.
South American fan fever has swept the United States as Boca Juniors fans have taken over South Beach, Miami. Whilst the Palmeiras faithful conquered Times Square in New York. This means more to the teams from South America than their European counterparts and so far you can see that in the stands and on the pitch.
Two huge advantages have become very apparent on the field of play also. The South American sides seem more fresh as they are only midway through their league season, whereas European sides have just finished a full campaign and look a little tired towards the end of these opening games. The top European clubs would usually be on the beach at this stage, but now they are having to adapt to playing this extra tournament.
Extreme heat has also been a factor, and for sure the South Americans are more used to such conditions. Just a couple of months ago I experienced day time matches in Rio de Janeiro played in sweltering sun and humidity. As Atlético de Madrid midfielder Marcos Llorente admitted, the Europeans are not so used to this and his feet hurt it was so hot during his opening match in the U.S.
If South American sides can continue to use their amazing fans, the scorching heat and their fresh legs to their advantage then perhaps some CONMEBOL teams can go deeper in this tournament than we ever thought.
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