FIFA CWC: Sleeping European giants and the firing South American contingent

Inter, Madrid & Chelsea struggle at Club World Cup as South American teams shine; pressure mounts on European giants amid surprise-packed tournament.

FIFA CWC: Sleeping European giants and the firing South American contingent
Chelsea's embarrassing loss to Flamengo is an eye opener to European giants at the Club World Cup, they must wake up before it's too late. (Photo credit: GOAL)


The current Inter Milan team reeks of the pathetic fate that befell the triumphant 2010 set shortly after winning the treble. This isn’t the Inter Milan we know. What is happening to them?

Led by Christian Chivu and their enigmatic captain Lautaro Martinez, Inter Milan rallied and left it late to beat Japanese side Ulsan on Saturday, but they’re now in danger as they must pick up up a point at least against River Plate to confirm qualification to the next round of the FIFA Club World Cup.

Let’s face it, the tournament has sprung surprises,, and it’s why we love the game, but much was expected of Inter Milan after their horrific showing at the tail end of the season,, where they lost out of the three competitions they were primed to win.

They’re not the only ones with question marks around them. Real Madrid will take on Pachuca on Sunday,, and it’s a game they must win after settling for a 1-1 draw in their competition opener against the Saudiaudi side on Wednesday.

Football is a game of chance. Federico Valverde missed from the spot late on,, and the chance was gone. It was thrilling for the Arabian club to earn a point against the European giants, but what does that say about Xabi Alonso’s era at Real Madrid?

There’s a lot to unpack from the shambolic performance by Real Madrid with Kylian Mbappe unavailable; Vinicius Jr didn’t exert himself in the game, and the debut of Trent Alexander-Arnold left too much to be desired. Early days, but the storm won’t be friendly in that regard.

Europa Conference League winners Chelsea lost to Flamengo on Friday, a result that now means they must win their final group game against Esperance to advance to the next round, but their performance against the Brazilians was embarrassing.

From team selection by Enzo Maresca, which saw them pitch Reece James in midfield, to the anonymity of Cole Palmer, poor organisation and weak intensity, Chelsea cannot afford to fall off from the group stage; they must step up in their final group game.

It’s important to laud the South American contingent. From the Brazilians to the Argentines, they have been so impressive that bookmakers might want to revisit their earlier calls. While we’ve had weather challenges in the USA, the games have thrilled us beyond measure.

Loaded All Posts Not found any posts VIEW ALL Readmore Reply Cancel reply Delete By Home PAGES POSTS View All RECOMMENDED FOR YOU LABEL ARCHIVE SEARCH ALL POSTS Not found any post match with your request Back Home Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat January February March April May June July August September October November December Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec just now 1 minute ago $$1$$ minutes ago 1 hour ago $$1$$ hours ago Yesterday $$1$$ days ago $$1$$ weeks ago more than 5 weeks ago Followers Follow THIS PREMIUM CONTENT IS LOCKED STEP 1: Share to a social network STEP 2: Click the link on your social network Copy All Code Select All Code All codes were copied to your clipboard Can not copy the codes / texts, please press [CTRL]+[C] (or CMD+C with Mac) to copy Table of Content