FC Porto and Benfica between the elite in a new and long format of the Club World Cup

FC Porto and Benfica are currently participating in the renovated Club World Cup, in an unprecedented format with 32 teams coming from all continents, which meet in the United States of America after a long and exhausting time.

Placing two Portuguese clubs in this competition is a work meritorious that was developed at the last sports times, although, internally, it is rival Sporting the two -time national champion, although European benefits are inferior.

It is according to the rules well established by FIFA that the 32 teams were determined, a maximum of two by European country, to give more heterogeneity to the participants, managing Portugal to have the maximum, given the ranking of the clubs.

In addition to the winners of the last four champions alloys to have direct access to the race, the rest of the vacancies were assigned by a ranking Continental, in a total of 12 European sets, six South Americans, four Americans, four Asians, four Africans, one from Oceania and also one from the host country.

Started at dawn from Saturday to Sunday, the Club World Cup lived several criticism for overloading a calendar that was already very much filled.

With the European championships and events completed in late May, the athletes still went to their teams -and the Portuguese won the League of Nations -joining again for this race, almost without vacation time.

It is in this state that the competition will be seen, with FC Porto joining Group A, together with the Brazilians of Palmeiras, coach Luso Abel Ferreira, the al-ahly Egyptians and the Americans of Inter Miami, the Lionel Messi club.

Benfica faces Bayern Munich Germans, Boca Juniors Argentines and Auckland City’s New Zealandes in Group C, which led the two Portuguese to start competition in different American cities in the early days.

The dragons debuted at East Rutherford, against Palmeiras, on Sunday, at 11 pm, with a draw 0-0, followed by the matches before Inter Miami, at 20h of Thursday, in Atlanta, and Al-Ahly, at 2 am on June 24, in East Rutherford.

The incarnates opened with Boca Juniors on Monday night in Miami Gardens, then faced Auckland City at 5 pm on June 20 in Orlando, and Bayern Munich at 8 pm on June 24 in Charlotte.

The team led by Martín Anselmi took advantage of FIFA’s special transfer window before the Club World Cup to recruit the Spanish midfielder Gabro Veiga, which represented the Saudis of Al-Ahli, after third place in the I Liga.

It is the only novelty in the core that completed the season, without exits, for now, consummated in the portista formation, which does not have the injured Marko Grujic and also with goalkeeper Diogo Costa to give way to Claudio Ramos, in the face of injury.

On the other hand, Benfica registered no hiring in this brief stop between the Portuguese Cup final and the beginning of the Club World Cup, but already has two official outputs of the squad, the strikers Zoki Amdouni and Arthur Cabral.

The Swiss was loaned by Burnley’s English, anticipating the exit before the World Cup, which could even have played, but the eagles decided not to exercise the purchase option. Already the Brazilian was sold to Botafogo and returned to his country.

Different is the case of Argentine Ángel di María, who has already confirmed a return to Rosario Central, where he was formed, but only joins the Club World Cup.

The goalkeeper Samuel Soares, who chose to compete in the European U21 for the Portuguese team, and the defense Tomás Araújo, who was undermining an injury that had affected him long months ago, are low for Bruno Lage, as well as Bah and Manu Silva.

In the remaining groupings, Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo and Seattle Sounders face group B, while Chelsea, Flamengo, Los Angeles FC and Tunis species were integrated into the D Group D of this competition.

The group E features Inter Milan, River Plate, Monterrey and Urawa Reds, the F Grupo Fenu Borussia Dortmund, Fluminense, Ulsan Hyundai and Mamelodi Sundowns, the G Group includes Manchester City, Juventus, Al Ain and Wac Casablanca, and finally, the group H has Real Madrid, Red Bull Salzburgo, Al-Hilal and Pachuca.

The tournament will be played at 12 United States, a country that is also host of the World Cup in 2026, along with Mexico and Canada, being scheduled for July 13 at Metlife Stadium in East Rutherford.

In addition to the stage of the final, also Atlanta, Seattle, Pasadena, Miami Gardens, Philadelphia, Orlando (two enclosures), Nashville, Charlotte, Cincinatti and Washington DC will receive meetings from the competition, where some European domain is expected.

As it is tradition in previous editions of the ‘old’ world club, European teams often superiorize themselves, and are the favorite of victory, with the ambition of obtaining the first winner’s status in this format.