In the USA, Inter Milan shows superior quality against Fluminense in the round of 16. Juventus must change their approach against Real Madrid; their performance against Manchester City won`t suffice.
We should have better understood Manchester City`s fury after failing to score a seventh goal against Al Ain. It wasn`t just regret over missing first place or calculations about the round of 16; it`s that their vocabulary contains only one obsession: to win, win, win, never settling, always seeking an eighth goal after the seventh. Tudor vows that his Juventus will have no creed other than victory, but it`s crucial this isn`t a religion whose tenets are applied at will. Against City, the desire was notably absent, quite the opposite. After those ninety almost inexplicable minutes, it`s hard to give the Bianconeri much hope against Real Madrid. While Real`s mechanisms are less perfected and scientific than City`s, they possess extremely high quality, a more direct style of play, and a strong desire to impress Xabi Alonso, their new boss. Real Madrid vs. Juventus seems like a foregone conclusion. Seems.
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INTER: A MANAGEABLE CHALLENGE
The situation is different for Inter vs. Fluminense. The Nerazzurri are growing in conviction, if not always in peak physical condition. A draw against Monterrey wasn`t the goal, and their victory over Urawa was a desperate struggle. However, their team superiority fully emerged against a River Plate squad with limited ambitions. When discussing Inter, we often forget that they are still the finalists of the last Champions League and have a duty to progress beyond the round of 16. The 0-5 loss to PSG will haunt their memory in dark moments far in the future, but not now. The urgency now is to restart, and the draw could have been more complicated. From what`s been seen so far, Fluminense isn`t the strongest Brazilian team; they`re not Flamengo or Botafogo. They seem beatable.
JUVENTUS: NOTHING TO LOSE
It`s forbidden to predict the future in a tournament as unpredictable as this Club World Cup. No one can say if teams will suddenly run out of steam or if, in such a globalized football landscape, there`s still room for surprises. Real, for instance, has terrifying attacking power even without Mbappé: goals come from deep, there`s significant verticality and a lot of workmanlike sacrifice. However, this continuous assault approach has undeniable downsides, as seen in the chances Salzburg wasted. Others would have capitalized. Juventus, on the other hand, has an advantage: nothing to lose. They are inferior to Real, and they are experimental because Tudor is no longer solely focused on a fourth-place finish but is shaping the future with material that isn`t always top-tier. This might have led the Spaniards to underestimate their actual weakness. With Yildiz and Kolo Muani, things will be different. What is truly concerning is the attitude that condemned them against City: they would have lost anyway, but not by crossing the halfway line only a handful of times, with the regret of having always looked dangerous.
GANSO: A BLAST FROM THE PAST
Seeing everyone behind the ball hurt more than conceding five goals. As if it wasn`t clear that as soon as Juventus retreats, it`s over. Fluminense doesn`t inspire the same fear: none of legendary Renato `Romanista`s` men have truly impressed so far. Arias is certainly the most convincing, while former prodigy Ganso is a liability. Fluminense couldn`t even beat Mamelodi and shows a contradiction that offers hope: they are second in direct attacks but second to last in chances created. Once in scoring positions, they lack precision, the final touch, and real danger.
CHIVU`S CHOICES
An interesting scenario for an Inter side that showcases its defensive and counter-attacking DNA, similar to their Champions League performance against Barça. Chivu is studying his players and himself. He arrived at Inter after only a dozen Serie A matches, perhaps too few, but Trap and Capello had even less experience before making history with Juve and Milan. He`s changing some hierarchies; starting spots seem less fixed regardless of late-June needs. Even Esposito, introduced without hesitation and already integrated into the system, is not an emergency but a deliberate choice. Chivu is mediagenic, as is Tudor. If they advance, Inter should face City in the quarterfinals, offering the prospect of the Acerbi-Haaland showdown missed in Oslo. The alternative, a perverse bracket, is a mirror match against Inzaghi`s Al Hilal. Of course, the Arabs are preferable, but losing to their former coach would hurt more. For Juventus, the horizon beyond Real sees them facing Borussia, who play a more aggressive 3-4-2-1 than the Bianconeri, or Monterrey, a complicated but not impossible team to face, similar to Benfica. But first, the round of 16. The impression is that Juventus`s fate depends on Real, while Inter`s depends on Inter.
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