A handful of days in, how is the Club World Cup going? Is it living up to its pre-tournament hype, a competition that will ‘change our sport for the better’ no less? Or is it one enormous bonfire of the vanities?

According to one prominent source it has already proven to be a ‘resounding success’ but given that source is FIFA, on their official site, let’s treat that with the pinch of salt it deserves.

With our own eyes we see half-empty stadia. We spy players exhausted from a long and demanding season laid waste by the midday sun, all to accommodate European audiences. We shake our heads in dismay as Bayern Munich – ranked sixth in the Opta Power Rankings – put ten past Auckland, rated 4,957^th.

Worse yet, though nobody can be blamed for this, the revamped tournament’s marquee opening game finished goalless, despite Lionel Messi’s best efforts to introduce some razzmatazz to proceedings. The Argentine GOAT struck the post with an impish free-kick and saw an audacious attempt from distance pushed onto the bar as Inter Miami tried in vain to break down the most winnable of their group opponents, Al Ahly.

Yet, come the game’s end, it wasn’t Messi who took the plaudits – nor their other aging megastars Luis Suarez or Sergio Busquets – but instead Oscar Ustari in nets. If not for the 38-year-old’s eight saves, including a penalty stop, the Herons would have been downed comprehensively by the Egyptian champions.

Which begs the question: If Miami are going to struggle defensively against the group outsiders what chance do they have this Thursday against a Porto team who fired 2.4 goals per 90 in Primeira Liga last term, a team fronted by a striker in Samu Aghehowa who converted 19 times in 23 league starts?

One of the easiest bets of the coming week is to back the Portuguese giants to rack up a decent scoreline in Atlanta.

Back Porto over 2.5 goals at 9/5

Three hours earlier, and 900 miles north in New Jersey, the other round two Group A clash plays out with Al Ahly seeking to extend on their resilience and high chance creation, this time against much tougher fare in Palmeiras.

Twice Campeonato Paulista champions in the last three years, the Verdão impressed in their opening gambit – another goalless stalemate v Porto – bossing every statistic, yet interestingly their one underwhelming performer on the day was their brightest talent, Estêvão.

On route to Chelsea post-tournament the teenage winger huffed and puffed to little reward but after contributing 22 goal involvements in the Brazilian top-flight last term he is frankly too good to have two poor games consecutively. He is one to watch here.

Another aspect to note from Palmeiras’ opener was the almost admirable high volume of fouls they committed, a hefty 20 all told. Chief offender in this regard was Richard Rios in midfield, a reputed summer target for Manchester United.

Back Estêvão to score or assist, Palmeiras over 15.5 fouls, and Rios over 1.5 fouls at 21/4

Very early on Friday morning, another Brazilian side Botafogo competes, having edged past Seattle Sounders in their first outing.

This time out, they face tournament favourites PSG who dismantled Atletico with the same ease they dismantled Inter in the Champions League final a little over a fortnight ago. For the record, Luis Enrique’s men have converted every 23 minutes across their last five games.

From such firepower we naturally turn to Ousmane Dembele but with the Ballon d’Or contender still struggling with a quad injury let’s focus instead on his likely understudy and the shots market. Goncalo Ramos took on three shots in 65 minutes versus the Mattress-Makers and averaged 4.28 shots per 90 in 2024/25.

Botafogo incidentally are strong defensively and have conceded only three first-half goals in their last 15 fixtures. A PSG win feels likely here. Another demolition does not.

Back Ramos over 3.5 shots and Draw/PSG at 6/1

Friday evening brings Chelsea v Flamengo, a match-up that has all the makings to be one of the highlights of the group stages. Whoever wins in Philadelphia is guaranteed top spot in Group G.

For their part, Chelsea go into battle in fine fettle, with four consecutive wins to their name including a Conference League Final triumph. There is a chance here that Liam Delap gets a full debut after dazzling as a sub versus Los Angeles FC while a stand-out display from Pedro Neto continues his decent form, the winger boasting four goal involvements in six.

Flamengo though will be a tough Brazilian nut to crack, unbeaten in 10 and keeping clean sheets in eight of them. Former Chelsea left-back Filipe Luis is their coach and he has transformed the Mengão since his appointment last autumn.

There is a lot to unpack with this one, and a lot of difference-makers to consider, so it feels almost unbecoming to concentrate on ill-discipline. That though is where the value is.

The Blues picked up three cautions in a routine dismissal of Los Angeles – the same number they received in their European final – while in the Premier League last season, Enzo Maresca’s side saw yellow on 99 occasions.

Back Chelsea over 2.5 cards at 8/5

Lastly, we come to Inter Milan v Urawa Reds on Saturday night for the specific reason that an upset could be in the reckoning.

As predicted in our tournament preview, I Nerazzurri might well still be wobbling from their deconstruction at the hands of PSG last month and a perfectly ordinary performance against Monterray has not dissuaded from that theory.

Though the Red Devils lost their opener 3-1 to River Plate, pertinently they forced the oppo keeper into five saves from nine shots, suggesting they’re clinical enough to capitalise on the few chances that will come their way. It’s certainly a tempter at such big odds.

Back Urawa Reds to win at 15/1

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