Club World Cup daily rankings: Manchester City seeks to itghten grip at top

New York Times

5 hours ago

With all respect to the teams bravely taking the field in this American heat wave while the group stage concludes… we're all just gasping for the knockouts to kick off, aren't we?
Welcome to the latest edition of The Athletic's Club World Cup daily power rankings — our look at who's hot, who's not, and how the struggle for global club supremacy is shaking out. Share your comments below and don't be shy to disagree. We'll run the rankings up to before the semifinals.
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We will update these rankings at the end of each day's play. Unlike our pre-tournament rankings that focused on the historical might of each team, this series is designed to live very much in the present. Simply, we'll use the results of this competition alone to project who has the best chance to win the trophy — as well as teams who appear doomed to an early ticket home.
In another relatively low-scoring day, Borussia Dortmund continued its meek march into the bracket with a 1-0 win over Ulsan HD. Mamelodi Sundowns concluded its scene-stealing showing with a scoreless draw against favored Fluminense. CF Monterrey clinched its spot in the Round of 16 with panache, putting three goals past Urawa Red Diamonds. Finally, Inter Milan notched another professional performance in a match overshadowed by two red cards and a final whistle meltdown from River Plate.
Bayern Munich spends an unprecedented second day outside of the top spot; we'll see how Manchester City fares against Juventus. To the rankings!
(Teams that played on Wednesday are italicized in the rankings.)
1. Manchester City (-): Juventus should keep them sharp ahead of the knockouts.
2. Bayern Munich (-): Fresh legs after Kompany rotated. Will need them to withstand Flamengo.
3. Flamengo (-): Lacked definitive edge for 80'+ against LAFC. Essentially a final next against Bayern.
4. Botafogo (-): No team a worthier physical foil than Atléti. Win over PSG showed their bona fides.
5. Paris Saint-Germain (-): Embraced being a pressing, possession-dominant side. Will Dembelé add punch?
6. Real Madrid (-): Looked better with 10 men than 11? Call it progress.
7. Inter Milan (up 2): Onto the knockout bracket, with its habitual big game swagger restored.
8. Juventus (down 1): Took care of business, but still conceding a worrying sum of shots.
9. Chelsea (down 1): A needed momentum boost – and a favorable matchup against Benfica.
10. Benfica (-): Can take confidence from clean sheet against Bayern.
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11. Palmeiras (up 2): Did well to regain 1st in A, but unconvincing finale. Botafogo await.
12. Inter Miami (up 2): Characteristic defensive lapses bring Messi face-to-face with PSG. Sorry, captain!
13. Monterrey (up 5): Weathered a tough group and got better with each game. Viable bogey team for Dortmund.
14. Borussia Dortmund (up 1): Is there another gear to hit? Or is this it?
15. Fluminense (down 3): Another team to limp into knockouts. Still, can't sleep on potential to surprise.
16. Al Hilal (-): Just 6 of 32 shots on target; leaving goals (and points) unclaimed.
17. Atlético Madrid (-): Roster retool too incomplete to contend. Just not at PSG's level as constructed.
18. Mamelodi Sundowns (up 1): Toe-to-toe with Dortmund and Fluminense.
19. RB Salzburg (up 1): Unlucky to face Tournament Bounou. Photo-finish in Group H.
20. Al Ahly (up 1): Fought to the end and made Group A far more interesting.
21. Boca Juniors (up 1): Incredible support. A shame the team itself couldn't meet their showing.
22. River Plate (down 11): Total meltdown against Inter. A showing to forget.
23. Espérance de Tunis (-): Made Group D very tense for the two favorites.
24. FC Porto (-): Too little, too late; two draws that will win few neutral hearts, if any.
25. Seattle Sounders (up 1): Never embarrassed in tournament's toughest group. No long and dour trip home, at least.
26. Los Angeles FC (up 1): 'Of our six halves, five were good, one was bad.' Well said, Steve Cherundolo.
27. Auckland City (up 1): Amateurs got a result against Boca. You'll never sing that.
28. Urawa Red Diamonds (down 3): 0-4 is a tough sendoff after playing Inter close.
29. Wydad Casablanca (-): Pressured Juventus throughout. Nordin Amrabat with an ageless, creative shift.
30. Ulsan HD (-): Kept Dortmund to a single goal. Far from a pushover showing in total.
31. Pachuca (-): Spent 83 minutes up a man, and still thoroughly outplayed.
32. Al-Ain (-): 180 minutes played: 0 goals for, 11 conceded.
(Illustration: Kelsea Petersen / The Athletic; Robbie Jay Barratt / Getty, Dylan Buell / Getty, Carl Recine / Getty, Angela Weiss / Getty)