Kolkata: The Club World Cup might be supported by the fact that a Brazilian team and a Saudi Arabian team knocked out European powerhouses Inter Milan and Manchester City in a matter of hours.

When Simone Inzaghi likened his new club Al-Hilal defeating Manchester City 4-3 to scaling "Mt Everest without oxygen," he wasn't far off. Since billions of dollars have been invested in Saudi Arabia's football initiative, the round-of-16 outcome has been the best promotion for the country. The tale of Fluminense is even more astounding: last year, the team was fighting to avoid relegation, but now they are among the top eight in the world. They did this by defeating Inter Milan with an offensive attack and by scoring at the beginning (German Cano, 3) and end (Hercules, 90+3) of the 2-0 victory.

"Inter are a fantastic squad. They have a lot more money than us, but it's 11 versus 11 on the field. Throughout the 90 minutes, the team remained committed, fought hard, and maintained concentration. “Bravo!” exclaimed Renato Gaucho, the coach of Fluminense.

Inter is among the top 10 clubs in an Opta power rating list that places Fluminense at 181st. They came in 13th place in the Campeonato Brasiliero Serie A, 33 points behind winners Botafogo. The 2023 Copa Libertadores champions had a terrible fall, with the decline crushing former Brazil managers Fernando Diniz and Mano Menezes.

Thiago Silva, 40, leads the defense of the 123-year-old Rio de Janeiro club, while Fabio, the goalkeeper, is 44. Gaucho, a former striker for Brazil and Fluminense, assumed command in April and has quickly instilled his high-pressing approach. The club was brought up against the 20-time Serie A champions and three-time European champions thanks to gritty goalless draws against Borussia Dortmund and Mamelodi Sundowns and a 4-2 victory over Ulsan Hyundai.

Al-Hilal now separates Fluminense from a spot in the semifinals of the 32-team Club World Cup, which started in the United States on June 14. If they are fortunate, Palmeiras may join them. Having defeated Botafogo in an all-Brazilian round-of-16 match, the classic titans of Sao Paulo take on Chelsea. It has been a competition for the titans of Brazil to demonstrate that they still matter, as Flamengo put up a strong fight against Bayern Munich.

The league was put on hold for a month to prepare the clubs, all of whom had qualified by winning the Copa Libertadores (South America's equivalent of the UEFA Champions League) from 2021 to 2024, which gives a good idea of how seriously Brazil took this competition. According to Flamengo coach Filipe Luis, "Teams are playing every game as if it is the final."

The notion of competing against the finest of Europe dates back to 1962 and 1963, when Pele's Santos defeated Benfica and AC Milan in back-to-back Intercontinental Cup tournaments, which pitted the winners of the Champions League against the winners of the Copa Libertadores. Zico played for Flamengo when they defeated Liverpool 3-0 in 1981. This competition has also been won by Sao Paulo (1992 and 1993) and Gremio (1983).

European clubs established their dominance over the Club World Cup, which consists of six to eight teams, over time, even as the notion of continental superiority lost its meaning. Since Corinthians beat Chelsea in the 2012 final, no Brazilian team has ever won against a European opponent. In 2011, Santos fell 0-4 to Barcelona.

This time, that was different. Paris St-Germain manager Luis Enrique stated that Botafogo had the best defense against his club following the Champions League champions' 0-1 defeat in the group round. Taking full advantage of Nicolas Jackson's red card in the 68th minute, Flamengo defeated Chelsea 3-1. Fluminense then stunned Inter, who came in second in the Champions League and Serie A.

According to a Reddit article, the four Brazilian teams have played more games in the past year than the majority of European teams. However, the reason for the improvement in performance is that Brazilian clubs are in the middle of their season, while European clubs are worn out after having to extend their season to make room for this competition. Brazilian teams are also more accustomed to the oppressive heat of the American summer.

However, Brazilian clubs have transformed themselves in ways that are not included in these, and the evidence of this is that they have won the last six Copa Libertadores championships in a row. Flamengo is "a European club who happens to be in South America," according to an anonymous Copa Libertadores coach quoted in World Soccer. The money made from the sales of Lucas Paqueta and Vinicius Jr has been used to create a strong squad.

Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano was quoted by The Athletic as stating that Palmeiras have "two, even three, high level players" in every position. “The situation is the same with Flamengo, Fluminense, and Botafogo. They have invested a significant amount of money.

Bragantino is in the Red Bull stable, Bahia belongs to the City Football Group, and John Textor owns a share in Botafogo, Crystal Palace, and Lyon. This implies that Brazilian teams can afford to keep their players, and in the case of Palmeiras attacker Vitor Roque, they can pay Barcelona €25 million to acquire him. Despite assisting Colombia in getting to the Copa America final, offensive player Jhon Arias is still playing for Fluminense. Jefferson Savarino (Botafogo), Girogian de Arrascaeta (Flamengo), and Flaco Lopez (Palmeiras) have all excelled in the United States, but they haven't yet played in Europe.

Portuguese coaches at clubs paved the way for Carlo Ancelotti's selection as the Brazil coach. Take Abel Ferreira (Palmeiras), for example. Before the loss to Palmeiras, Renato Paiva, a Portuguese man, was the coach of Botafogo. Portuguese coaches have won four of the previous six Brazilian league championships, and outsiders can introduce new ideas.

Tostao, the champion of the 1970 World Cup, questioned his readers in his column if they could picture how fantastic it would be if a Brazilian squad were to win this year's tournament. The fact that the potential exists is evidence of how well clubs from the nation of five-time world champions have done.

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