The 40-year-old has led Fluminense with experience and passion. Could he do the same for Brazil next summer? And then there was one. Nobody expected a Brazilian club to reach the Club World Cup semi-finals, and if any team was going to make a deep run in the tournament, it was not Fluminense. After winning the Copa Libertadores in 2023, they narrowly avoided relegation last year and have gone through four managers in less than two years. Thankfully for them, they are now coached by the charismatic Renato Gaúcho, who told us earlier in the tournament: “It’s no use having a team of 500 million reais, because football is decided on the field.” Throughout the tournament he has encouraged Brazilians to take pride in what their teams have achieved, despite being written off due to the wealth of the European sides. Continue reading...

New signing made a bright Club World Cup debut and now eyes Fluminense, one of his former sides, on Tuesday Estêvão Willian was not the only Brazilian attacker to offer a tantalising glimpse of the future during Chelsea’s win against Palmeiras in the quarter-finals of the Club World Cup. There was also a bright cameo from João Pedro, who came on for Liam Delap just after Estêvão’s equaliser early in the second half and proceeded to change the game with his brawn and intelligent link-up play. It was an eye-catching performance from the forward given that his £60m move to Chelsea had been announced two days earlier. What had the 23-year-old been doing during his time off? Lifting logs and existing on a diet of raw steak, presumably. The aggression from João Pedro was startling. He was raring to go after a couple of training sessions with his new teammates and, while he was not involved in the winning goal, his bustling forward play was a vital part of Chelsea reasserting their dominance after Palmeiras pulled the score back to 1-1. Continue reading...

Switzerland v Iceland follows in second Group A game Player guide | David Squires’ wallchart | Mail Tom Loth though I am to focus too much on the men’s Club World Cup, a quick recap on yesterday’s events, where Real Madrid held off Dortmund to win 3-2 in a crazy game that featured three injury-time goals, while PSG had two men sent off against Bayern Munich but still managed a 2-0 win over the German champions, who also lost Jamal Musiala to serious injury after a contentious challenge from Gianluigi Donnarumma. PSG meet Real Madrid in the semis, while Chelsea face Fluminense in the other. Interestingly, Sky Sports News is reporting that tickets for the latter are going for a snip at $13 – pricing as it should be but an issue for those who bought tickets earlier at a higher rates. Partial compensation is being discussed. Continue reading...

Chelsea signing scores for Palmeiras at Club World Cup Italian backs 18-year-old to make immediate impact Enzo Maresca called Estêvão a huge talent after the Brazilian teenager marked his final game for Palmeiras by scoring a brilliant goal in his side’s Club World Cup quarter-final defeat to Chelsea. The 18-year-old winger, who will be playing at Stamford Bridge next season, found himself in the unusual position of trying to knock his next employers out at Lincoln Financial Field on Friday night. Chelsea made it through to a semi-final with Fluminense after a late own goal from Weverton but there was huge excitement around Estêvão after his stunning equaliser at the start of the second half. Continue reading...

Pep Guardiola has plenty to think about over the summer after a last-16 defeat to Al-Hilal in the United States A manager rejuvenated is no overblown assessment of Pep Guardiola, whose friendly wave to this correspondent during a morning training session at Manchester City’s Boca Raton camp was emblematic of a man who oozed energy and commitment for the challenge of elevating his side again throughout the Club. World Cup. Immediately after the winding blow of Monday’s 4-3 defeat by Al-Hilal in Orlando, the 54-year-old blended disappointment with a measured optimism, fairly pointing to how if chances had been taken then City would be facing off against Fluminense in Friday’s quarter-final, back at the Camping World Stadium. Continue reading...

Minute-by-minute updates on the action in Miami Any comments or thoughts? You can email Rob The Brazilian teams have breathed life (and soul) into the Club World Cup. Palmeiras are already in the quarter-finals; Flamengo and Fluminense, who meet Inter Milan tomorrow, are hoping to join them. Flamengo (possible 4-2-3-1) Rossi; Wesley, Ortiz, Pereira, Alex Sandro; Pulgar, Jorginho; Gerson, De Arrascaeta, Araujo; Plata. Substitutes: Matheus Cunha, Danilo, Varela, Ayrton Lucas, Vina, Victor, Allan, de la Cruz, Gustavo Fernandes, Everton, Bruno Henrique, Juninho, Pedro, Michael, Wallace. Continue reading...

Friday updates as the summer of football continues Any comments or thoughts? You can email John The Euro Under-21 final takes place on Saturday. England’s Young Lions are in the final again. Today is a rare day off from the Copa Gianni but it resumes on Saturday with the last 16. Palmeiras - Botafogo B (Philadelphia) Benfica - Chelsea (Charlotte) PSG vs. Inter Miami Group A (Atlanta) Flamengo vs. Bayern Munich (Miami) Inter Milan vs. Fluminense (Charlotte) Manchester City vs, Al-Hilal (Orlando) Real Madrid vs. Juventus (Miami) Borussia Dortmund vs. Monterrey (Atlanta) Continue reading...

All four Brazilian clubs make last 16 Dortmund tops Ulsan, wins Group F Fluminense completed a full Brazilian contingent in the Club World Cup round of 16 after a goalless draw with Mamelodi Sundowns secured their progress from Group F on Wednesday. Despite being on the back foot for much of the match at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium, Fluminense advanced after finishing second in the group with five points, two behind group winners Borussia Dortmund, who edged Ulsan 1-0. Continue reading...

Flamengo, Botafogo, Palmeiras and Fluminense are not as rich as European clubs but they have heart and heritage “The graveyard of football is full of ‘favourites’,” warned Botafogo manager Renato Paiva in what has proven to be this summer’s coldest line in sweltering United States heat. Gritty draws achieved by Palmeiras against Porto and Fluminense against Borussia Dortmund at the Club World Cup were enough to start a conversation. But the underdog heroics of Brazil’s other two clubs have shaken up how we see club football across the world. For the first time since Corinthians shocked Chelsea in Yokohama in 2012, when some Brazilian fans sold their homes and vehicles to make the trip, the reigning Copa Libertadores champions have beaten the Champions League winners. Igor Jesus, who has been strongly linked to Nottingham Forest, scored the only goal of the game as Botafogo beat Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, a special setting for Brazilians given it is where they won the World Cup in 1994 and honoured the recently deceased Ayrton Senna. Continue reading...

The Copa do Brasil is back after a nine-year break but there are concerns about Brazil’s top flight before a first World Cup in South America After a nine-year hiatus, fans of Brazilian women’s football will once again be able to support their clubs in the Copa do Brasil. The cup will bring together 65 clubs from the three divisions of the national women’s football league, starting with a preliminary round on 21 May and concluding with the final in November. It is a return that has long been requested by the women’s football community in Brazil in order to expand the calendar for lower-division clubs and gives high-profile teams such as Flamengo, Corinthians and Santos another opportunity to compete for silverware. However, all is not rosy on the Brazilian club scene only two years before Brazil are to host the Women’s World Cup for the first time. There have been a few years of growing sponsorship and visibility in the top tier, the Brasileirão A1, but this season has exposed the challenges facing the game. This is an extract from our free weekly email, Moving the Goalposts. To get the full edition, visit this page and follow the instructions. Moving the Goalposts is back in to its twice-weekly format, delivered to your inboxes every Tuesday and Thursday. Continue reading...