PSG awaits in the quarters

New York Times

6 hours ago

Bayern Munich set up a Club World Cup quarter-final with Paris Saint-Germain after beating Flamengo 4-2 Getty Images
Bayern Munich have booked their place in the Club World Cup quarter-final after beating Flamengo 4-2 at Hard Rock Stadium.
The Bundesliga champions struck early with an Erick Pulgar own goal and a deflected Harry Kane strike giving them a 2-0 lead inside 10 minutes. Gerson hammered a strike past Manuel Neuer to halve the deficit but Leon Goretzka restored the two-goal advantage with a great strike of his own from distance.
Jorginho cut the lead back to one from the penalty spot but Kane made sure of the Bayern victory with a brilliant finish in the 73rd minute.
The Germans will face European champions Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter-final on Saturday, July 5.
GO FURTHER
Harry Kane arrives at the Club World Cup – but can Bayern Munich really beat PSG? Getty Images
The winner of this match will have the tough task of facing Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter-final, after the European champions rolled to a 4-0 victory over Lionel Messi and Inter Miami in Atlanta earlier today.
PSG scored all four goals in the first half. Joao Neves got the first two, heading home unmarked in the sixth minute before finishing off a lovely team move a half hour later. A Tomas Aviles own goal accounted for the third before Achraf Hakimi added the fourth on the stroke of half-time. Getty Images
Bayern Munich are strong favourites to progress to the quarter-final, but they will have to snap an impressive unbeaten run for their opponents.
Flamengo come into today's last-16 on an 11-game unbeaten streak in all competitions. Their last defeat was a domestic one, losing 2-1 against Cruzeiro on May 4.
If they avoid defeat today in 90 minutes, their unbeaten run will stretch beyond two months. Getty Images
Six changes to the Flamengo team that drew 1-1 with LAFC with the headline news being the return to the line-up of Jorginho — here's the team in full: Starting XI: Rossi; Wesley, Pereira, Ortiz, Sandro; Jorginho, Pulgar; Gerson, De Arrascaeta, Araujo; Plata. Getty Images
Vincent Kompany restores the Kimmich-Goretzka axis in midfield, and picks a fluid-looking three behind Harry Kane, in Michael Olise, Kingsley Coman, and Serge Gnabry.
It's a talented group of players, but in combination they don't always function and sometimes their individual impact has been lost under the weight of all the positional rotations. Let's see.
Josip Stanisic at left-back is another area of difficulty; it might work, but I have never seen it happen. Stanisic is a better right-sided player and often looks awkward with the ball and exposed without it on the other flank. Getty Images
A host of changes for Bayern Munich from their final group-stage defeat as Vincent Kompany restores his team back to full strength — here is how the Germans line up at Hard Rock Stadium: Starting XI: Neuer; Laimer, Upamecano, Tah, Stanisic; Kimmich, Goretzka; Olise, Gnabry, Coman; Kane. Getty Images
Oh yes, a revamped tournament definitely needs a redesigned trophy — especially one carrying the name of FIFA president Gianni Infantino. Twice.
The all new Club World Cup was designed by FIFA and jewellery brand Tiffany & Co, and unveiled by Infantino alongside U.S. president Donald Trump.
As well as displaying Infantino's name (twice) the trophy also features the name of all 211 FIFA member nations.
There is a central disc and three outer rings, meaning it can be displayed as a flat shield or opened with a key to reveal 'a multifaceted and orbital structure' — which I think we can all agree, sounds intriguing.
These tournaments are all about the shared experience — and we would love to hear from you throughout this Club World Cup.
Be it a comment, observation, prediction, a question you always wanted answered, or something completely different, we welcome it all.
Email us at [e-mail] and have your say. We're already looking forward to reading what you've got for us.How will today's teams fare?
Well, it's not an exact art but each day at The Athletic we have compiled our power rankings of each team, taking a look at who's hot, who's not, and how the struggle for global club supremacy is shaking out.
Here's a look at how things are shaping up:
Manchester City — 1
Bayern Munich — 2
Flamengo — 3
GO FURTHER
Club World Cup daily rankings: Manchester City seeks to tighten grip at top Getty Images
The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup is a little different with 32 teams competing — when the previous 20 editions never brought together more than eight clubs each.
Still, the legacy of those early years will continue and a host of famous names will be looking to add to their previous victories.
Here are the most successful clubs in this competition's history:
🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 Real Madrid (2014, 2016-18, 2022)
🏆🏆🏆 Barcelona (2009, 2011, 2015)
🏆🏆 Corinthians (2000, 2012), Bayern Munich (2013, 2020)
🏆 São Paulo (2005), Internacional (2006), Milan (2007), Manchester United (2008), Inter (2010), Liverpool (2019), Chelsea (2021), Manchester City (2023) The Athletic
Here's how things looked in the table after all Bayern Munich's group C games... Getty Images
As for Bayern Munich, they came through the group stage but surprisingly did not top it as they lost to Benfica in their final group game.
Here's how they made it to this stage: Bayern Munich 10-0 Auckland City
Bayern Munich 2-0 Boca Juniors
Benfica 1-0 Bayern Munich The Athletic
Here's how things looked in the table after all Flamengo's group D games... Getty Images
Flamengo have been something of a surprise package at the Club World Cup so far.
They made it through to this stage of the competition after topping their group. Here's how they did it: Flamengo 2-0 ES Tunis
Flamengo 3-1 Chelsea
LAFC 1-1 Flamengo Getty Images Venue: Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Fla.
Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Fla. Capacity: 65,326
65,326 Team(s): Miami Dolphins, Miami Hurricanes
Hard Rock Stadium was the site for the 2024 Copa America final between Argentina and Colombia, where Messi won his last international trophy.
Argentina prevailed 1-0 in extra time, but the match was marred by a lack of crowd control that led to a near stampede outside the stadium's gates before kick-off. It was a security disaster for the tournament's organisers (CONMEBOL) and the local government.
I was there that day. There are scenes of unconscious men and women and crying children pressed against the gates that will stay with me forever.
The Club World Cup is another opportunity for Hard Rock Stadium to prove it can host international football matches safely before the 2026 World Cup.
Messi will be the main attraction, but major brands like Real Madrid and Boca Juniors will attract local fan groups and neutrals alike. The Athletic
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From the UK, we've got you covered throughout this expanded Club World Cup and on into the build-up to next summer's World Cup, with Wimbledon tennis getting started, F1's iconic European races, and The Open golf all on the way soon too.
We have the lot covered and much more besides, so make sure you're fully informed with access to our full experience. And you're in luck — you can subscribe to The Athletic on an exclusive offer here.
All matches at this Club World Cup are available to watch on DAZN, so you can watch this afternoon's game in the United States and anywhere else that has access to DAZN.
This one is also being shown on Channel 5 in the UK, which is free to watch. Getty Images
The match kicks off at 4pm ET, 1pm PT in the United States.
That works out as 9pm BST in the UK. Getty Images
Hello everyone!
Our 2025 Club World Cup coverage continues today with a clash of two intercontinental titans: Bayern Munich and Flamengo.
The latter has been something of a surprise package in this tournament after topping their group, while Bayern Munich will be disappointed with their second-place group standing.
Who will prevail? The Athletic is the best place to find out.