More than 1 million empty seats for Club World Cup group stage. Knockout rounds up next
After a group stage played in front of more than 1 million empty seats, the Club World Cup moves on to knockout rounds that could soon resemble a Champions League clone.
Nine teams that advanced to the round of 16 are from Europe along with four from Brazil and one each from Major League Soccer, Mexico and Saudi Arabia.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Los Angeles Times
an hour ago
- Los Angeles Times
Olivier Giroud parting ways with LAFC after disappointing stint with team
Olivier Giroud is parting ways with LAFC after one disappointing year with the club. The 38-year-old Giroud and LAFC announced the decision Friday on social media. He will play in his final match Sunday night at home against Vancouver. After scoring only five goals in 37 matches for LAFC, Giroud will become a free agent after his departure. He is widely expected to join Lille, which finished fifth in the French league last season, on a free transfer. 'I want to thank all of the fans, my teammates and the staff at LAFC for making this an enjoyable stop in my career,' Giroud said in a statement. 'I am happy to have played a part in the success of LAFC. From winning a trophy last season to participating in the Club World Cup, this has been a great experience in LA for me and my family.' Giroud joined LAFC in July 2024 as a designated player after a long European career highlighted by prolific tenures with Arsenal and Chelsea. The top goal-scorer in the history of France's national team was expected to provide dynamic offense alongside MLS stars and fellow Frenchmen Denis Bouanga and Hugo Lloris. Instead, Giroud clearly struggled to adapt to the MLS game and to LAFC's counter-attacking style under coach Steve Cherundolo. LAFC also failed to figure out ways to involve Giroud in the offense consistently, unable to provide service to one of the sport's most dangerous finishers earlier in his career. Giroud usually played as a substitute for LAFC, and he didn't score his first MLS goal until last April 19. He did find the net in big moments, scoring in the U.S. Open Cup final last season and in the Leagues Cup final. 'Olivier has been an exemplary professional during his time at LAFC,' general manager John Thorrington said. 'He brought humility and a winning mentality that helped elevate everyone around him. Olivier has been a tremendous ambassador for the club on and off the field. We are grateful for his contributions.' LAFC is suddenly a team in full transition after a winless three-game run at the Club World Cup earlier this month. Cherundolo already has announced he will leave the club to move back to Germany after the season, and LAFC could be down to Bouanga as its only designated player by next month. LAFC added Dutch winger Javairô Dilrosun on loan from Club América earlier this month, but the loan is only through July 24. Dilrosun replaced Cengiz Ünder, whose disappointing MLS tenure ended this month. LAFC's lengthy pursuit of Antoine Griezmann also came up fruitless earlier this month when the French star extended his contract with Atlético Madrid through 2027. LAFC (7-4-5) still sits sixth in the Western Conference standings with two or three games in hand on every club above it, and it has an infusion of cash from beating América in a play-in match to reach the Club World Cup. Beacham writes for the Associated Press.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Man City's lesson shows Juventus need more than Tudor says
Igor Tudor feels Juventus need three reinforcements to become credible title contenders next season, but a 5-2 loss against Manchester City proved the Bianconeri will require more new faces. Juventus faced a brutal reality check on Thursday, suffering a 5-2 loss to Pep Guardiola's Manchester City. The Bianconeri had already qualified for the Club World Cup Round of 16 following victories against Al Ain and Wydad and only needed a draw to win Group G. Advertisement Even if Juventus had beaten Manchester City in the Champions League in November under Thiago Motta, the Premier League giants' latest win wasn't really surprising, except for the scale of their triumph. ORLANDO, FLORIDA – JUNE 26: Phil Foden #47 of Manchester City scores his team's fourth goal during the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 group G match between Juventus FC and Manchester City FC at Camping World Stadium on June 26, 2025 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by) The scoreline says everything you know about the game, even more than Man City's 24 shots against Juventus' five and the seven Michele Di Gregorio's saves against Ederson's none. True, Igor Tudor had rotated the team considerably, starting a few key players on the bench, including Kenan Yildiz, Randal Kolo Muani, and Andrea Cambiaso, and giving, perhaps, a final chance to the struggling Teun Koopmeiners, Nico Gonzalez, and Dusan Vlahovic. Advertisement Tudor reiterated at the start of the Club World Cup, and even before that, after the final Serie A match of the season, against Venezia, that the Bianconeri would need three new signings to be genuine title contenders next season. Nevertheless, the result and the performance against Manchester City suggest otherwise. What Juventus need in defence and midfield epa12014617 Juventus Manuel Locatelli jubilates after scoring the opening goal during the Italian Serie A soccer match AS Roma vs Juventus FC at Olimpico stadium in Rome, Italy, 06 April 2025. EPA-EFE/ANGELO CARCONI Gleison Bremer will be like a new signing in defence, returning to action after a tricky ligament injury sustained in October. However, if Pierre Kalulu is the starting right central defender in a 3-4-2-1 formation, then the Bianconeri will need a new face at the back unless Federico Gatti is used on the left-hand side of the backline or the inconsistent Lloyd Kelly is tasked with the job. Advertisement Moving into the midfield department, Juventus will surely need a right or left wing-back as Andrea Cambiaso can play on either flank. On the right, Alberto Costa showed decent developments, especially in the final third of the pitch during the Club World Cup, but his performance against Manchester City suggests he still has a lot of work to do defensively. ORLANDO, FLORIDA – JUNE 26: Pierre Kalulu #15 of Juventus FC reacts after conceding an own goal scored for Manchester City's second goal during the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 group G match between Juventus FC and Manchester City FC at Camping World Stadium on June 26, 2025 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by) Nico Gonzalez was one of the wingers signed with Thiago Motta last summer, but the Argentine is struggling to adapt to a right-wing-back position with more defensive duties than a custom attacking winger, and has also failed to deliver consistently as an attacking midfielder, contrary to Francisco Conceiçao. In central midfield, Manuel Locatelli and Khephren Thuram appear to be the designated starters, but Juventus need more quality in the core of the pitch, and considering an upgrade on Locatelli should not be out of question. Could Teun Koopmeiners be the man replacing Locatelli as the team's playmaker? Debatable, mainly because the Dutchman has played five of his six games under Tudor as an attacking midfielder. Advertisement Kenan Yildiz will surely be the man to watch in Turin next season. In the game against Manchester City, he set up Dusan Vlahovic twice, seeing the Serbian waste the first chance and find the net with his second attempt. But who could partner Yildiz behind a lone striker? Yet again, Koopmeiners is an option, but he desperately needs to regain confidence and be more effective in front of the goal, while Conceiçao has shown good progress in the Club World Cup. Kolo Muani key to Juventus transfer strategy in attack PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – JUNE 22: Kenan Yildiz #10 of Juventus FC celebrates scoring his team's third goal with Randal Kolo Muani #20 of Juventus FC during the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 group G match between Juventus FC and Wydad AC at Lincoln Financial Field on June 22, 2025 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by) Nevertheless, the Portuguese is on loan at Juventus, who must pay €30m to make his move permanent from Porto. According to Gazzetta, the number one alternative to Chico is Manchester United's outcast Jadon Sancho. Advertisement Last but not least, there's the attack. Yet again, Kolo Muani is on loan from PSG until the end of the Club World Cup, and Juventus must negotiate a longer deal with the Ligue 1 giants, knowing that the France international would be glad to stay at the Allianz Stadium. On the other hand, Vlahovic is tipped to leave as his contract expires in 2026 and he has shown no desire to continue with the Old Lady. This means Juventus will need one new centre forward if Kolo Muani stays, otherwise they'll be looking for two central strikers. The main name linked with a move to Juventus these days is Jonathan David, who has already reached an agreement with the Serie A giants but is waiting for his representatives to finalise the details regarding agent fees. With the Bianconeri competing in three competitions again next season, including the Champions League, it's predictable that they'll need at least four or five new signings to be competitive again in 2025-26. The latest defeat against Manchester City clearly showed that many of those who started the game can't be offered a guaranteed spot in the Bianconeri's XI next season.
Miami Herald
an hour ago
- Miami Herald
Real Madrid blank RB Salzburg, win Group H in Club World Cup
Vinicius Junior scored one goal and assisted another to lift Real Madrid to a 3-0 victory over RB Salzburg and a Group H first-place finish in the FIFA Club World Cup on Thursday night in Philadelphia. Federico Valverde added the second goal just before halftime and Gonzalo Garcia added the third in the 84th minute for Madrid (2-0-1, 7 points) in a second consecutive multi-goal win following a tournament-opening draw against Al Hilal. The five-time winners of the Club World Cup in its previous format will face Juventus in a Round of 16 clash on Tuesday in Miami Gardens, Fla. RB Salzburg (1-1-1, 4 points) were eliminated as Al Hilal held on to win their simultaneous match against CF Pachuca in Nashville, Tenn. It was Salzburg's second defeat to Real Madrid in 2025 after a 5-1 loss in Spain in the league phase of the UEFA Champions League. Madrid were more efficient than dominant. The teams had 12 shots apiece, with the victors' four attempts on goal only one more than Salzburg's three. Madrid again played without Kylian Mbappe, who has yet to feature in the tournament due to a stomach illness that left him briefly hospitalized. But Vinicius Junior did enough to compensate for the Frenchman's absence on Thursday. He failed to convert the game's first shot on target, denied on the break by Christian Zawieschitzky after Jude Bellingham had played him into a 20th-minute breakaway. But two brilliant moments over a five-minute stretch tilted the game squarely in Madrid's favor. In the 40th minute, the Brazilian ran onto another terrific ball out of the back from Bellingham, before weaving left on the dribble to evade defender Kouakou Gadou. He drove an early low finish well out of Zawieschitzky's reach and into the bottom right corner. In the 45th, he reached Arda Guler's deflected pass on the right side of the box before directing a backheel pass to a wide-open Valverde behind him for an equally clinical finish past Zawieschitzky. Bellingham had the next crucial intervention in the 66th minute, blocking Edmund Baidoo's effort off the line with Thibaut Courtois beaten. --Field Level Media Field Level Media 2025 - All Rights Reserved
