It has been a summer of soccer, with both the Gold Cup and the Club World Cup taking place at the same time. For the purposes of this piece, we are focusing on the FIFA Club World Cup, which is now halfway through the Round of 16.

The Group Stage Results

Given that Brazilian teams are in the middle of their season, it is probably not that surprising that they have done so well in this tournament. Palmeiras won Group A ahead of Inter Miami.

In Group B, it was PSG and Botafogo moving on, while European giants Bayern Munich to the top of Group C ahead of Benfica. Group D saw Flamengo surprisingly pip Chelsea to the top spot.

The Round of 16

The 16 teams moving on from the group stage are now in the knockout rounds, with half the games already in the book. We had an all-Brazilian affair over the weekend, with Palmeiras needing extra time to knock off Botafogo.

Chelsea ousted Benfica 4-1, but they required extra time to get the job done in that one. PSG routed Inter Miami 4-0 on Sunday, with Bayern Munich beating Flamengo 4-2 in the other game.

The upcoming games will see Inter take on Fluminense in one of the more interesting games of this round.

Inter are sure to be the favorites for this one, but as we mentioned earlier, the Brazilian teams have been good.

I would expect Manchester City to cruise past Al Hilal in the other Monday game. The final games in this round take place on Tuesday, with Real Madrid taking on Juventus and Dortmund set to face Monterrey.

I like Madrid to move on, and while Dortmund should get the win, Monterrey could prove to be an underdog worth taking a look at.

The Eventual Winner and Tournament MVP

At the start of the Club World Cup, we all wondered which continent would provide the winning team.

The Europeans were certainly the favorites but given that they are all coming in at the end of a grueling season, there were some who believed that a South American team might make an impact.

At this stage of the proceedings, it seems clear that the Europeans are taking this thing seriously, and we appear to be heading toward an all-European final.

On one side of the bracket, it looks like Chelsea and Manchester City might be on a collision course, while Real Madrid and PSG loom large on the other.

For me, Manchester City has been the class team in the tournament, and I like them to win. Given that teams have rotated their squads, the battle for MVP is tough to gauge.

Coming down the stretch, watch for the likes of Erling Haaland and Harry Kane to raise their game and perhaps bag enough goals to win the Golden Boot.

We will see the start of the new FIFA Club World Cup. This time around, we have 32 teams from all over the world taking part in a month-long competition.

To open things up, we will have the group stage, where the 32 teams will be split into 8 groups of 4 teams.

There are what appear to be some obvious mismatches in there, but we also have some mouthwatering matchups that we cannot wait to see.

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Group A

This is an interesting one, with Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, and Inter Miami taking part.

All eyes here will be on Lionel Messi and his Miami team, but can he lead them out of what is a very tough group? The game against Porto is the one that looks to be the most intriguing.

Group B

There is a very obvious matchup that we love in this group, which is Champions League winners PSG going against Atletico Madrid.

These two teams should make it out of Group B without too much of an issue, but Botafogo and the Seattle Sounders will have something to say about that.

Group C

Bayern Munich is the clear favorite in this group, but we might well see a very good battle for the other spot in the knockout rounds.

Auckland City, Boca Juniors, and Benfica are also in this group, so we are going to have several very good matchups to look forward to.

Group D

Another fantastic group that could potentially throw out some very entertaining games. Chelsea is arguably the team to beat in this group, but Flamengo, LAFC, and Esperance de Tunisie will give it their best.

For me, the matchup between Chelsea and Flamengo is the one that calls to me the most.

Group E

In this group, you would have to say that the Urawa Red Diamonds are set to become the whipping boys, as they are in tough against River Plate, Monterrey, and Inter.

The Italians are the favorite to come out of this group, but they are not going to have it easy against River or Monterrey.

Group F

This is another group that would appear to have a couple of clear favorites, so the matchup between Fluminese and Borussia Dortmund is going to be the one to watch.

Both Ulsan and the Malemodi Sundowns are a bit of an unknown commodity, but they also cannot be totally counted out.

Group G

Again, there are a pair of very big teams in this group, with Manchester City and Juventus easily the cream of the 4 teams in Group G.

Wydad and Al Ain are in there, too, and while I’m not sure either of them has a shot at making it out, surprises do happen, so you just never know.

Group H

We close the groups out with Real Madrid topping the lot in Group H.

They should cruise to victory against Al Hilal, Pachuca, and Salzburg, but the concern here, as with all the other top teams, is just how strong the team will be that the field.

It is the offseason for these players, so expect to see some heavy rotation.

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