Club World Cup Briefing: What's drawing fans? Can Auckland mismatches be avoided? Is heat a problem?

New York Times

16-06-2025

The opening two days and five games of the Club World Cup have witnessed a 10-goal thumping, a dominant performance from Europe's champions, struggles for the best from the U.S., passionate fans on the streets and reasonable attendances in the stadiums.
What the tournament becomes over the next few weeks (and years) remains to be seen but despite justified criticisms and concerns in the build-up, it has not lacked for talking points so far.
Here The Athletic's James Horncastle explains what (or who) is drawing in the crowds, whether mismatches like Bayern Munich's demolition of Auckland City can be avoided and whether playing games in the midday heat is a problem for this summer and next.
The magnetism of Lionel Messi continues to draw people in. As your correspondent entered the Hard Rock stadium for the opening game of the Club World Cup, he passed a line of fans all dressed in pink, all with the same name and number on the back of their jerseys.
It made you feel bad for Messi's teammates, even the illustrious ones like Luis Suarez and Sergio Busquets and raised the question: how many of the 60,927 supporters were in Miami gardens to see Messi first and Inter Miami second?
That it was the opening night of a new competition didn't seem to matter to those in attendance. It was a chance to catch Messi on a Saturday night. Everything else, from the opening ceremony to French Montana's appearance and the cross-bar challenge won by Alessandro Del Piero at half-time served as warm-up act for Messi's 90 minutes on stage.
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Think of it like a residency in Las Vegas. Ordinary punters considered it as such. They were more interested in that than the legitimacy of the competition and the ego of its inventor, FIFA president Gianni Infantino. Even the Al Ahly fans, who were in greater numbers than the Inter Miami ones, were more curious about how their team would cope against the greatest player of all-time.
The issue for FIFA is that, without man of the match Oscar Ustari in goal, Inter Miami could have been 3-0 down at half-time against Al Ahly. Getting out of the group is going to be tough for Javier Mascherano's Flamingos and if they are eliminated at the first hurdle, the Club World Cup will not be able to count on Messi and his ability to boost interest and attention.
Auckland City billed themselves as the 'working class team of the Club World Cup'. Bayern Munich, by comparison, are an example of the 1 per cent and the equality gap was brutally exposed in Cincinnati.
That the German champions won handsomely came as no surprise. One of the pundits in DAZN's studio, Luis Garcia, predicted a 5-0 win. But it was 6-0 at half-time and the lack of competitiveness showed the problem in widening this competition to 32 teams.
Auckland City, for what it's worth, earned their spot here. They have won the OFC Champions League 13 times since 2006 and were regulars in the old format of the Club World Cup. This scoreline, however, gave oxygen to those who wanted to see extreme dis-proof of concept.
And yet the irony is that even if humble Auckland City lose all their games at the Club World Cup, the money they will earn from their participation could distort the competitive balance back home in New Zealand, It would, domestically, make them the 1 per cent, although there has been some wrangling with the New Zealand FA over how that cash should be divided.
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A quirk is that neighbouring Auckland FC, owned by Bournemouth owner Billy Foley, play not in New Zealand but in the A-League in Australia where they are currently top. This means they fall under the Asian Football Confederation rather than the Oceanic equivalent and compete against teams from Saudi and Japan for a chance to make the Club World Cup.
Having a team from the OFC is an essential part of Infantino's vision for a truly global competition. He believes it will inspire 'so many people back in their countries.' But one imagines scorelines like Sunday's 10-0 will continue to be a feature of it as long as clubs from Fiji, New Caledonia and Tahiti qualify for future editions.
At the World Cup in 1994 players complained about the kick-offs in the afternoon sun. Soaring temperatures made it impossible to play at high intensity and the spectacle suffered as fatigue built over the course of the tournament with the final, a 0-0 between Brazil and Italy in Pasadena, becoming the first to ever come down to a shootout.
The Club World Cup is only a weekend old and players and coaches are already talking about the challenge of playing in the heat. Auckland City's 10-0 defeat to Bayern couldn't be blamed on it, but, as simple as it looked for the German champions, Michael Olise told DAZN: 'The conditions weren't easy.'
PSG's Vitinha said the same after the Champions League winners racked up another dominant win against Atletico Madrid at the Rose Bowl. His manager Luis Enrique was surprised by his team's performance given it was 85 degrees and warmer still pitchside. He explained: 'It is the best scheduled time for (TV in) the European countries but it is difficult to play in these conditions.'
Perhaps there should be more clamor for the US to hold a winter World Cup…
Chelsea v LAFC — group D, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, 3pm ET, 8pm BST
Boca Juniors v Benfica — group C, Hard Rock Stadium, Miami, 6pm ET, 11pm BST
Flamengo v ES Tunis — group D, Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, 9pm ET, 2am BST
You can sign up to DAZN to watch every FIFA Club World Cup game for free
(Top image: Getty Images)