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Brazilian football expert Tim Vickery says, “This Club World Cup is a dream come true for Brazil fans.”

Everyone is talking about it, according to everyone at every bus stop and water cooler. It’s full-on”.

Brazil is swooning over Brazil while Britain sleeps, with some games starting at 02:00 BST for the newly expanded tournament in the United States.

No wonder, then.

Millions of football fans have watched the fortunes of Sao Paulo-based teams Palmeiras, Flamengo, and Botafogo, as well as the Rio-based teams’ fortunes on television.

And they have had a tournament.

On Friday, Fluminense will face Al-Hilal in the quarter-finals, while Palmeiras will face Chelsea for a spot in the final two.

Fans are still enthralled by the four Brazilian teams’ impressive accomplishments in moving from their groups to the last-16 stage.

The majority of the games for the 2026 World Cup will be held in the United States, too. Mexico and Canada host together.

What will a Brazilian team’s victory in the Club World Cup have to do with their chances of winning it six times?

This club-level success, in all fairness, was not necessarily anticipated.

Brazilian sports journalist Renata Mendonca, who covered the progress of all four Brazilian teams, said, “I didn’t expect that, most people in Brazil didn’t expect that.”

Both Argentina’s Boca Juniors and River Plate teams have already been eliminated, as have Manchester City, Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid, and Porto.

Brazil’s Flamengo and Botafogo both suffered defeats in the final sixteen, but the remaining two sides are still hopeful.

According to Vickery, “This tournament is a priority in the way an Olympic athlete will complete his training and programming at a certain point.”

“For Palmeiras, who really wants to win,” of course. They have set themselves the highest standards for this, and they are doing so right now.

Could the climate that the Brazilian teams are accustomed to have helped them gain advantage?

Since the start of the tournament, both Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca and Pep Guardiola have both mentioned the extreme heat.

Chelsea trained under the 37C before beating ES Tunis 3-3 in Philadelphia as a group.

Maresca claimed last week that the weather makes it nearly impossible to train or attend a session, while Guardiola stated before last Thursday’s match against Juventus that his players must be prepared to “suffer” in the challenging heat of Orlando.

Due to the soaring temperatures in the United States, competitions across the board have started using water breaks during matches.

Not all players, however, have had a difficult game.

Vitinho, a two-year player for Botafogo at Burnley, described the high temperatures as “we’re used to it.”

Another factor to take into account is the fact that all four Brazilian teams have abandoned their domestic competitions from March until December.

Teams from Europe entered the Club World Cup after spending long seasons, despite their freshness and sharpness.

15 days after PSG defeated Inter Milan 55-0 in the Champions League final in Munich, PSG’s first game against Atletico Madrid was on June 15 in Pasadena.

Vickery continues, “The Flamengo president recently said to a mate that we’re flying in the middle of the season.”

Is the end of the season in the eyes of the European clubs? Is it the start of the season? The European clubs haven’t been planning as well as they should right now.

Vickery thinks there should be another topic of discussion about Brazilian clubs’ success.

He claims that “there is more money in Brazilian football” than before. Over the past few seasons, the standard has increased. The influx of foreign coaches is one cause.

“Of the four Brazilian clubs here, only two have Portuguese coaches: Renato Paiva and Palmeiras, respectively.

Brazilian football has a lot of Portuguese and Argentine coaches, and it has given them more ideas. Even Filipe Luis, the Brazilian coach at Flamengo, and his backup team are all Spanish.

There is a new idea openness that wasn’t present a few years ago.

Mendonca continues, “South American teams have a great opportunity to win this competition.” They are physically very well-prepared for this season, which is in full swing.

They now have better conditions to retain their talented players and even re-establish some of them. For instance, Flamengo signed Jorginho after leaving Arsenal, while Juventus signed Danilo and Alex Sandro.

For this competition, they have also retained Igor Jesus, according to Botafogo. He will then travel to Nottingham Forest.

At the Club World Cup, hundreds of thousands of fans have traveled from Brazil to cheer on their respective clubs.

Their presence has been a tournament highlight thus far, with lively atmospheres at each of their games.

Vickery believes that the club’s performances will have no impact on how Carlo Ancelotti’s side performs next year despite the fact that Brazil have already qualified for the 2026 World Cup.

The strength of national teams like Colombia and Uruguay are what the performances of Brazilian clubs highlight, he adds.

“Many of their best players are not Brazilians,” according to Palmeiras, Botafogo, Flamengo, and Fluminense.

Brazilian football now treats the rest of South America in the same manner as European football treats Brazil. Two of Colombia’s midfielders, Jhon Arias of Fluminense and Richard Rios of Palmeiras, are available.

The goals for Botafogo against PSG were scored by Paraguay’s Gustavo Gomez, a center-back, and Palmeiras’ Jefferson Savarino, a Venezuelan.

After that, they almost lost their place in Brazil’s top flight last year, just to avoid the humiliation of competing in the Club World Cup and second-tier competition.

They have won 57 medals, including three Copa Libertadores, the equivalent of the Champions League in South America. Most recently, they won Brazil in 2023.

Saudi Arabian football played a significant role on Tuesday.

Fans awoke early to see Al-Hilal’s 4-3 victory over Manchester City in the competition’s final eight, while newly promoted Neom SC kicked off what is expected to be a busy summer transfer window by signing former Arsenal forward Alexandre Lacazette.

The Saudi Pro League (SPL) has evolved significantly since Cristiano Ronaldo’s signing for Al-Nassr in December 2022, as shown by Ronaldo’s Riyadh rival Hilal.

The Blues made their US debut with draws against Red Bull Salzburg and Real Madrid, and they advanced from the group stage with a victory over Pachuca of Mexico.

After winning the Club World Cup for the first time against European opposition, Hilal are confident ahead of Friday’s quarter-final encounter with Fluminense on Friday at 20:00 BST.

The four-time Asian champions are ready to join the global elite, regardless of what happens to the Brazilians.

Al-Hilal have just become Asia’s first super club, according to Professor of Afro-Eurasian sport Simon Chadwick of the Emlyon Business School in Paris.

However, Chadwick claims that this is not entirely dependent on spending after Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which owns Newcastle United as well, purchased Hilal in 2023.

In those two years, they have added a mix of former stars like Brazilian forward Marcos Leonardo from Benfica, Chelsea’s Joao Cancelo and Kalidou Koulibaly from Manchester City and Chelsea, and former stars like Malcom, Ruben Neves, Aleksandar Mitrovic, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, and Renan Lodi.

Neymar left for Santos after being acquired by Paris St-Germain. In addition, Simone Inzaghi took over as manager of Inter shortly after PSG’s Champions League defeat to the Milan side.

Al-Hilal has a loyal, loyal following for a long time and has achieved a lot of success, Chadwick continued.

“Al-Hilal has been elevated to a new level by the stability and discipline that PIF ownership has brought, in addition to the revenues the club is now producing.”

Ronaldo has stated on numerous occasions that he believes the SPL to be one of the top five leagues in the world, including last week by extending his Al-Nassr deal by two years.

Tarik El-Taib, a former Al-Hilal midfielder, agrees.

The ex-Libya international said, “When we look at the league, we talk about Joao Cancelo, Riyad Mahrez, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Karim Benzema.”

The foreign players in the Saudi League are at a higher level if you look at the Spanish league, with the exception of Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Atletico Madrid.

SPL clubs spent about $ 700 million on players like Sadio Mane, Neymar, Roberto Firmino, and Neymar during the summer of 2023.

More arrived a year later. Among them were Steven Bergwijn, Cancelo, Moussa Diaby, and Ivan Toney.

Al-Nassr spent about £65 million on Jhon Duran of Aston Villa during the biggest signing of January, which also reflected a growing interest in signing younger players.

Before the new year’s debut in August, more deals are anticipated.

Al-Hilal has been linked to Liverpool’s Victor Osimhen, Son Heung-min of Tottenham, and Darwin Nunez of Napoli as a replacement for Neymar, whose injured 18 months in Riyadh ended in January with his return to Brazil.

Luis Diaz, the English champions’ other South American striker, is reportedly a target for Al-Nassr.

There is some money. Six of the top 18 teams are among the richest in the world, out of 18 of them.

Al-Ittihad and Al-Ahli, two of Al-Hilal’s biggest rivals, were acquired by the PIF in 2023 in addition to Al-Hilal.

In May, Ahli won the Asian Champions League for the first time, but they finished fifth at home, one place below newly promoted Al-Qadsiah, fueled by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mexican striker Julian Quinones, who scored 37 goals in the process.

Neom SC recently received promotion in April, making them even better. The club are moving 130 miles west to the Red Sea coast from their current home of Tabuk early in the next ten years because they are a city that is still in development.

Neom have begun preparing for their first top-tier season with Lacazette, who was also supported by PIF.

The 2034 World Cup will be played in Neom, and there are rumors that Saudi Arabia will apply to host the 2033 club competition.

However, it’s possible that national team success will take some time to catch up.

Saudi Arabia must now move on to the play-off route after having previously represented the country at two World Cups. They are not one of the six Asian nations who qualified directly for the 2026 edition.

The Green Falcons finished third overall behind Japan and Australia, largely because they had only seven goals in ten games scored by unrecognized strikers.

Roberto Mancini complained last September about the lack of opportunities given to domestic stars because most clubs are filling their attacking positions with foreign talent and few Saudi players are moving overseas.

The Italian remarked, “Saudi Arabia’s international players must play for their clubs as core players.” In regional matches, I have 20 players on the bench.

Herve Renard, his immediate-program’s successor, has made similar remarks.

Firas Al-Buraikan’s situation serves as an example. The striker scored 17 goals in the 2023-2024 season, but Al-Ahli signed England international Toney from Brentford in August, and the only goal that came back was three.

that Al-Hilal, who is currently in the running for the title, is not concerned about it.

However, Chadwick claims that the real prize has already been won.

Don’t get carried away at this moment.

Emma Raducanu defeated 2023 champion Marketa Vondrousova on Wednesday, giving one of her best performances in “in a long time.”

However, the British number one’s on Friday will likely need an even better display to support that victory in order to advance to the last 16.

Aryna Sabalenka, the undisputed top-stakes female singles champion, is in her way.

Raducanu has made significant progress making it back to the top 40 this year, but the evidence points to a gap between the 22-year-old and the industry’s leading figures.

Iga Swiatek-Radovicu, the five-time major champion, had to give up both of her Grand Slam appearances this year, which ended in ruthlessly with her. She lost both games at the Australian Open and the French Open, both of which were humiliating.

On the clay in Rome, Coco Gauff, who later won the Roland Garros title, also showed Raducanu’s level of preparation to be insufficient.

Finding the best way to test the best is what Raducanu is facing.

“I believe I require more weapons,” she said. Before facing Sabalenka, the 2021 US Open champion, told BBC Sport, “I think I need to hit the ball with better quality more frequently.”

“I believe I should serve better,” he said. I believe I need to move more quickly. There are many things I need to improve.

It was obviously a really positive experience and a really good marker to be up against a top player like Marketa, who has won this tournament.

Over the past 18 months, Sabalenka has become the dominant player on the WTA Tour thanks to her powerful serve and her lightning-out baseline game.

She has reached at least the quarter-finals in each of her past ten Grand Slams, which demonstrates how blistering her shots are on any surface.

The faster courts at Wimbledon suit Sabalenka’s first-strike tennis, where she has reached the semi-finals on her most recent two appearances.

She uses her serve and return of serve to quickly surpass her opponents in the points race.

According to Wimbledon’s statistical insight tool, 39% of Sabalenka’s shots are attacking, compared to an average of 24% in the women’s draw.

She has just been so consistent and strong over the past few years, Raducanu, who qualified for the All England Club in 2021 and 2024.

“I just have to try to be as smart as possible and have control over my side,” he said.

“But I also need to take my chances if I have any because I can’t play passive against her.”

After being outshined by Swiatek and Gauff on clay and hard courts, Raducanu believes that the Wimbledon grass offers her best chance of pushing Sabalenka.

Raducanu has also looked to use her serve and forehand more aggressively since joining coach Mark Petchey earlier this year.

Additionally, the statistical analysis indicates that she is more aggressive than usual in the women’s draw, with TennisViz classifying 27% of her shots that way.

She is aware, however, that using craft is also necessary and that she cannot be “overly aggressive.”

The backhand will be crucial in removing Sabalenka’s groundstrokes’ pace.

Raducanu’s athleticism might also help her out in making more mistakes as a counter-puncher against Belarus.

Although Vondrousova doesn’t attack as frequently or with the same firepower as Sabalenka, Racanu’s defense against Vondrousova was outstanding, according to TennisViz’s Phil Newbury.

The slice might be the difference here. In her second round, Sabalenka’s “stealth score,” which measures how frequently a player wins a point when they are defending, was significantly below the draw average.

In contrast to other majors, Raducanu believes she has a better chance of defeating one of the leading players at Wimbledon.

Feeling at home helps her play with more freedom in addition to being comfortable on the grass.

The progress she has made this season is largely due to her having a close-knit, reliable group around her.

While taking a career break from her finance job, Jane O’Donoghue, a trusted ally who used to mentor her when she was a teenager, continues to support her.

After beating Vondrousova, Raducanu was spotted taking selfies with friends at Wimbledon and hanging out with them on the All England Club balcony.

Last year, I had the same kind of routine. She said, “I just really cherish these moments because we all know how difficult it is to play on the tour week in week out.”