Motivation
What could be argued as the biggest challenge in the world of football analytics is how to judge league strength around the world. Continentally, Europe is by far the best on the domestic level. Three of the final four teams in this Club World Cup were European, and the last time a non-European team won the competition was Corinthians in 2012. Within Europe, the English Premier League is largely considered to be the best league in the world, but opinions become fuzzier with leagues like Spain’s La Liga, Italy’s Serie A, Germany’s Bundesliga, and France’s Ligue 1. But could Brazil’s top flight, the Brasileiro, actually be on the same level as these European leagues? The performances of their teams in the Club World Cup may suggest so.
Club World Cup Walk Through
The four Brazilian teams in the tournament, Palmeiras, Botafogo, Flamengo, and Fluminense finished the group stage with 6-5-1 record along with some impressive results against the best teams in the world.
Palmeiras drew 0-0 with Porto in a game where Palmeiras produced 2.08 xG, and would certainly of won the match if not for the outstanding performance from Porto’s goalkeeper Claudio Ramos.
Fluminense drew 0-0 with Borussia Dortmund, where just like the Palmeiras match, it could have been won by the Brazilian team if not for incredible saves by the opposition goalkeeper.
Botafogo grinded out an amazing 1-0 win against Champions League winners PSG. Although the PSG starting lineup was missing regular starters like Ousmane Dembele and Nuno Mendes, they limited them to an xG of only 1.09, PSG’s lowest xG for a match since a Champions League game against Bayern Munich in November of last year.
Perhaps the most incredible results was Flamengo’s 3-1 comeback win against Chelsea, where they also led in xG, possession, and shots.
In the knockout stages, it was unfortunate that Botafogo were knocked out by fellow Brazilian side Palmeiras in the round of 16. Flamengo’s run also ended by losing 4-2 to Bayern Munich. But Fluminense advanced after blanking Champions League finalists Inter Milan to win 2-0. They defended valiantly led by 40 year old center back Thiago Silva and 44 year old goalkeeper Fabio.
Palmeiras lost to eventual finalists Chelsea 2-1 in the quarterfinals, but Fluminense amazingly reached the semifinals after beating Al Hilal (who beat Manchester City).
The tournament ended for our Brazilian teams in the semifinals as Fluminense lost to Chelsea 2-0, thanks to two incredible goals by a former Fluminense player Joao Pedro.
Despite none of the Brazilian teams winning Club World Cup, it was still an incredible tournament for them