FIFA Club World Cup: From Real to Bayern - Strap in Because the Club World Cup Just Got Tasty!

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After a battling group stage, only eight teams are left standing. These are the world's best eight in club football. Who among these eight will march on to the semi-finals? Join me as I look at the quarterfinalists, what their biggest strengths are and who will make it to the semis and why. So, sit back and enjoy my delusions in thinking that I can predict the future.

I’ll admit something – while I have been thrilled about the Club World Cup from the very beginning for very selfish and personal reasons, once Bayern ripped Auckland City FC from New Zealand 10-0, I began wondering if all the naysayers would be proven right. I wondered if this tourney would simply have turned into another Champions League in disguise – Champions League lite, Champions League in a trench coat and a hat, with all semi-final teams being European sides.

But the tournament has pleasantly surprised me. I mean, I haven’t had much free time to watch all the games, what with me having to live through personal strife without steady income, political turmoil and abductions. In short, it was a stressful month for me.

Still though, I kept an eye in the tournament and was pleasantly surprised with how it proceeded. Fluminense played a good game against Dortmund and my beloved Mamelodi Sundowns could have had Dortmund dead and buried early in the first half in their group game clash if they had been a bit more clinical.

Botafogo put one past PSG for the biggest upset of the group stages, but let’s also not forget Boca Juniors almost pulling off a 2-0 win over Benfica, only to collapse, the match ending in a 2-2 draw. Or how Al-Hilal went toe-to-toe with Real Madrid and forced them to settle for a 1-1 draw that could easily have been a loss for the Blancos (which would have greatly made me happy but hey, can’t have everything).

The biggest upset though, has got to be Al-Hilal putting Manchester City on the sword in the last 16, coming off 4-3 winner to dump the transitioning sky blues side out of the Club World Cup. Marcus Leonard (top scorer with three goals) and Malcom were excellent in that game, which was a clinic in transition football, which is City’s biggest Achilles heel. Simeone Inzaghi might be onto something!

And now, here we are - in the final eight. How will that play out? Let's take a peek.

Fluminense vs Al-Hilal (Friday July 4 – Camping World Stadium, Orland, Florida)

This is perhaps one of my most anticipated clashes of the quarterfinals and also my favorite because it assures us of at least one non-European team in the semis. So, my biggest fear is assuaged.

Fluminense arrive in this match off the back of a clinical 2-0 win over surprisingly bad Inter Milan. That was a defensive masterclass from Fluminense, who have so far, the second-best defensive record in this tournament behind PSG (two goals conceded behind PSG’s one).

The match against Inter Milan wasn’t pretty, as Fluminense sat back in a back five that at time resembled a back six, with 40-year-old Thiago Silva putting in a masterclass, but it was surely effective.

Colombian winger, Jhon Arrias has been Fluminense’s brightest spark, and he will be a point of bother against Al-Hilal’s left side, especially if Moteb Al Habri, Al-Hilal left back, who hasn’t been too convincing, plays.

Speaking of Al-Hilal, they caused perhaps the biggest upset of the tournament with that 4-3 win against Manchester City.

Malcom, Al-Dawsari and Marcu Leonardo were all excellent in that match, their pace putting to the sword the slow City defenders, something that will definitely be an itch on Pep’s bald head. After that performance against Real Madrid, this is a team to take seriously. With a master tactician like Simeone Inzaghi, a man no stranger to scalping excellent teams, at the helm, they are a match for anyone.

Prediction: Fluminense would do well to give Al-Hilal the initiative because, with ambitious passers like Ruben Neves from midfield and Joao Cancelo from right back, and fast attackers like Malcom and Al-Dawsari, Al-Hilal have tools to take advantage of any spaces in behind. This is perhaps the closest quarterfinal to call, but I give Al-Hilal the edge here just simply due to Simeone Inzaghi’s ability to coax excellent performances from his players. Al-Hilal wins 2-1.

Palmeiras vs Chelsea (Friday July 4 – Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

This is a rematch of the 2021 World Cup Final in Abu Dhabi, which Chelsea won 2-1 courtesy of a Kai Havertz penalty in extra time that sealed the victory.

Both teams have undergone massive changes since then, with only Trevor Chalobah being the one to have been around since then.

Palmeiras have looked good going forward and they look even better when Paulinho comes on. Unfortunately for Palmeira, Paulinho is not yet fit enough to start as he is still recovering from a surgery to fix a stress fracture on his right tibia and is also due for another surgery. Estevao has yet to set the world alight, but his delivery from set piece have been great so far so that’s one thing Chelsea will look to stop from the player who will be joining them after the tournament.

Furthermore, to compound Palmeiras’s woes, they will be without dependable centre back, Gustavo Gomez and right back Joaquin Piquerez, both out due to yellow card accumulation.

As for Chelsea, Enzo Fernandes will have to do without his midfield partner, Moises Caicedo, who is out with a one-game yellow-card suspension.

Prediction: Chelsea haven’t looked entirely convincing in this tournament, but they have the talents to cause problems against a Palmeiras team that will be lacking key players in key areas. As such, Chelsea to take this one 2-0. Nothing fancy, just a clinical win after surviving a few scares from Palmeiras.

PSG vs Bayern (July 5 - Mercedes Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia)

Whoa, now that’s a proper clash! Two of the most fluid and dynamic teams of the tournament coming to a head. This will be a real head spinner because of how the player rotations will tie our brains into knots as we try to keep track of who is playing where and why.

PSG come to this game on the back of a relatively straightforward 4-0 win over Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami. Look, I love Messi as much as the next guy, but I was under no illusions. In fact, I was surprised that it only ended 4-0, but that is perhaps because Luis Enrique instructed his players to conserve their energy in the second half.

Bayern Munich, meanwhile, had a much sterner clash against the impressively well-coached Flamengo. After going 2-0 down, Flamengo looked well down and out, but they battled back to 2-1 before Goretska put Bayern 3-1 up with a strike from outside the penalty box. Jorginho made it 3-2 to set up a nervy final 30 minutes but Harry Kane ensured there were no jitters for Bayern going into the final fifteen minutes with his second of the evening, an instinctive, no-look finish in the 72nd minute.

Prediction: This perhaps the hardest game to call, as both teams have galactical talents in their roaster. Bayern have proven their excellence in front of goals with 16 scored in this tournament, the most. PSG, on the other hand, are an excellent defensive outfit, but are also an attacking force, with quick give-and-gos tying up opposition defenses. Watch out for threats from their fullbacks, and especially Achraf Hakimi, who has 11 goals this season from fullback. Bayern’s attack could breach PSG a few times, but can they stop the Parisians from running riot against their backline? I doubt it. PSG to proceed 3-2.

Real Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund (July 5 - MetLife Stadium, East Rutheford, New Jersey)

Real Madrid looked no different from their Carlo Ancelotti days in the first match against Al-Hilal but it’s safe to say that they have since carved out that Xabi Alonso identity in subsequent games. We are seeing a lot of changes tactically. Vini Jr now has license to come inside in certain match situations, especially quick breaks, which is not good news for opposition defenders owing to his pace behind. Valverde now has more license to roam so expect him to be in the box more to cause all sorts of trouble and Gonzalo Garcia has ensured that Real Madrid haven’t missed Mbappe too much.

Their clash against Juventus was close in scoreline, but it was a blood bath for the Italian Old Lady, with keeper, Michele De Gregorio, being forced into save after save from the likes of Vini Jr, Jude Bellingham and Fede Valverde, before Gonzalo Garcia headed past him from a Trent Alexander-Arnold cross in the 53rd minute.

Borussia Dortmund haven’t looked to convincing in this tournament and one wonders how their game vs Mamelodi Sundown’s would have gone if Ronwen Williams hadn’t made that error that led to their equalizer in their group stage clash.

That said, they have certainly been improving with each passing game, with Karem Adeyemi and Serghou Guirassy causing all types of problems for defenders. I expect Lucas Vasquez, if he plays, to have a hard time containing Adeyemi while I think Guirassy will be a handful for Rudiger and Ascencio.

Dortmund also comes in this game with a nasty record against Real Madrid, having not won in eight games against the Blancos, a run that stretches back to 2014. Yeah, it’s not looking good for the Black Yellows.

Prediction: For all the talk of Niko Kovak being a defensive minded coach, his Borussia Dortmund have looked extremely exposed in defense and considering Xabi Alonso’s love for quick attacks, Vini Jr, Mbappe (if he starts), Bellingham and Gonzalo Garcia, will have a field day running behind Anton and Sule. On the other hand, I think Guirassy, Adeyemi and co will cause issues to Real Madrid defense, which looked quiet solid against Juventus. Real Madrid to edge Borussia Dortmund 2-1, though I think this will be an end-to-end spectacle.

And there you have it! An overview of the FIFA Club World Cup quarter finals that I am looking forward to.

What do you think? Which team did you think deserved to be here but didn't make it? And which of these clubs had the most dominant run and who do you see making it all the way to the final? Heck, go ahead and be ambitious and let me know who you think will win the whole damn thing in the comments below!

For more of my writing, click here to read my write-up on a breathless season for Barcelona under Flick. Or read here on the FA Cup semi-final between Nottingham Forest and Manchester City.