What we have learnt from the Club World Cup so far

We have almost completed the first two rounds of matches in the expanded Club World Cup group stage. How much have you enjoyed it?

Because it is played in the United States, many fans around the world have not enjoyed most of the action, as some of the games are not being played at a good time for them.

The time zone in the USA makes it difficult to watch some of the games, but some supporters have just not shown interest in the tournament.

The summer is the only time that footballers get to enjoy some time off after a long season for their clubs and country, but FIFA has chosen to expand the Club World Cup and begin the new format this summer.

It remains unclear how many Club World Cup tickets have been sold by football’s governing body, but we have learnt some things about the competition so far.

South American clubs take it seriously 

While the top players in the European leagues complained about more fixtures after FIFA expanded the Club World Cup, there wasn’t much uproar from teams in other continents.

Europe has the best teams in the world, but it is hard to argue that South America is the second-best continent for quality teams and players.

This explains why most top European clubs poach talents from South America every summer, and these players typically go straight into their first team.

If anyone is in doubt about the quality of football on that continent, they have learnt more, with Chelsea losing to Flamengo, PSG being beaten by Botafogo RJ.

The South American teams have won the competition four times before, but the last time was in 2012/2013, so they probably want to win it this time.

African teams are not the worst in the world

Africa is generally considered the least developed continent in the world, which means a lack of proper structure and infrastructure has limited the growth of football there.

There have been many African players imported to Europe, but most honed their skills early outside their continent at lesser European countries before making it to the top clubs.

However, their representatives so far have shown that football on that continent is probably underrated.

Although none of their clubs are among the favourites to win this edition of the competition, the likes of Mamelodi Sundowns and Al Ahly have impressed.

While Bayern Munich beat Auckland City 10-0 in matchday one, Al Ahly held Lionel Messi and his Inter Milan team to a goalless draw.

South Africa’s Sundowns also put in a fantastic performance in their game against Ulsan HD on matchday one, winning that fixture.

On Matchday two, Palmeiras defeated Al Ahly to show that South America is more advanced than Africa in terms of football.

Borussia Dortmund also beat Sundowns in the Africans’ second game; however, that win did not come without a fight.

Sundowns took the lead in that fixture after 11 minutes, before fans who bought Borussia Dortmund tickets were treated to a fantastic comeback from their team.

After one hour, the Germans raced to a 4-1 lead, but Sundowns were not done and scored two more goals to end the game at 4-3, treating fans to a thrilling game.

After this competition, more people will pay attention to African football, and it will be interesting to see if any of its teams make the next round of the competition.

Americans are not interested in football

Although many top players are missing from the current Club World Cup, the low turnout in the competition shows how little Americans like football.

Basketball and other sports are much bigger in the country, and one of the reasons FIFA allowed them to host this tournament is to gain more fans for the game.

However, the low turnout in some of the games, including those involving European powerhouses, has been disappointing.

The USA is one of the countries hosting the FIFA World Cup next year, and it is sad that they have not been able to fill stadiums for games during this Club World Cup.

FIFA must now find a strategy to get fans to watch the FIFA World Cup next year because the USA is the main host country. 

FIFA needs to revamp the competition to allow league champions

One baffling part of this Club World Cup is that two of the four clubs that reached the semifinals of the Champions League last season have not qualified.

The selection method also prevented the champions of Spain, England, and Italy from participating in the competition.

This could partly explain the low fan turnout: the world’s best players are mostly not competing at the moment.

We can only imagine how exciting it would be if Lamine Yamal, Mohamed Salah, and Raphinha were all competing at the Club World Cup.

FIFA has only just introduced this new competition format, which means there is room for changes before the next edition.

One big change they can make is to make room for recent champions of the top leagues in the world to compete in it.

This expanded edition does not interest players too much

We have touched on how uninterested most Americans are in watching the Club World Cup, but the players are also guilty.

Some teams see this tournament as a preparation for next season, but we have noticed that the biggest stars from Europe have not been giving their best.

Most of them complained about being forced to play in another competition, as they struggled with their workload and had not been at their best so far.

When the knockout stage of the tournament starts, we expect them to be more serious; however, it feels like the best players who should be giving their best are already looking forward to a short summer break.

Most of these players do not want to be in the USA using their precious summer to compete when some of their friends are partying around the world.

Conclusion

This first expanded Club World Cup has not exactly met expectations, but there have been many positive moments.

By the next edition, we expect FIFA to have made some important changes.