Benfica edge Bayern Munich to top Club World Cup group
After securing their first-ever victory over Bayern, Benfica will face Chelsea or Esperance de Tunis in the last 16. Bayern, finishing second, are set to face Group D leaders Flamengo.
Schjelderup broke the deadlock after 13 minutes with a first-time finish off Fredrik Aursnes' low cross from the right, capitalising on a lapse in Bayern's backline.
With Bayern already assured of a place in the next round, their rotated lineup lacked urgency. The Germans improved after the break and Joshua Kimmich thought he had equalised, but his effort was ruled out for Harry Kane being offside.
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Irish Examiner
2 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Warning shot for 2026: Club World Cup's brutal heat exposes a World Cup risk
In the 31 years since the United States last hosted the men's World Cup, a few things remain unchanged. Recent politics notwithstanding, the US population is diverse and air travel is relatively easy, so international games tend to attract supporters no matter where they live. As long as ticket prices are reasonable, a good crowd is a good bet. Also, it still gets really hot in the summer. This, of course, is not news. It was a major subplot of the 1994 World Cup, it will be a major subplot of the 2026 edition — which the US will co-host with Canada and Mexico as the climate crisis makes heatwaves more likely — and it's a major subplot of the Club World Cup this summer. The 19th-century Englishmen who wrote the first official Laws of the Game probably didn't anticipate the brutal heat that players often have to endure in a US summer, but everyone else should. Some rules of basic mathematics and climate are incontrovertible. A southern US venue plus a midday start time equals 22 players broiling in the sun, and it's odd that Fifa, in charge of the Club World Cup and next year's World Cup, does not appear to have foreseen that playing in blistering heat isn't much fun. So who benefits from this scheduling and heat? And who appears to worry about it the most? The answer to both questions: Europe. Games aren't starting at noon and 3pm local time on weekdays for the benefit of fans in the US. Those games land neatly in the evening for European viewers. Yes, Fifa could schedule more games to start at 9pm local time when temperatures are much cooler, but that's well past midnight in Europe, which makes fans, broadcasters and sponsors less happy. But European teams aren't quite as happy about those earlier kick-offs. Consider Chelsea, who cut short their training session in the run-up to their game against Espérance. They're not the first European squad to come to the east coast and notice, in the words of Jimmy Buffett, changes in latitude and changes in attitude. Philadelphia is 10 degrees closer to the equator than London — and Philly is one of the more northerly venues in this summer's Club World Cup. It is, in the organizers' defense, not usually this hot in Philadelphia or New York, and the one hot game in Pasadena was an aberration. Still, temperatures in the mid-30sC/mid-90sF are hardly unusual in Orlando or Charlotte. (Nor are they unusual in Atlanta, but teams assigned to play there are breathing comfortably in the air conditioning under the dome of Mercedes-Benz Stadium.) And even with cool Seattle in the mix, the median temperature through Monday's games was 81F (27C), with a median heat index of 87F (31C) and the dewpoint at a muggy 68F. This suggests European teams will have a problem with temperatures this summer and at next year's World Cup; that Chelsea were at a disadvantage against the Tunisian champions even before they kicked off. And that's the reason why teams from Brazil, where the state leagues play in the southern hemisphere's summer, have impressed so far in this tournament. Perhaps that could be a function of the long-held stereotype that Latin America plays possession football to conserve energy in the heat while Europeans run around like maniacs, afraid that they'll freeze if they stand still too long. Botafogo are among the Brazilian clubs who have thrived at the Club World Cup. Picture:But the limited data from major tournaments in the US doesn't support the notion that European teams are doomed to wilt in a North American summer. Seven of the eight quarter-finalists at USA 1994 were from Europe. Sweden helped themselves to a 3-1 win at high noon in Dallas against Saudi Arabia, a team, one would presume, who would cope a little better in the heat. Romania and Switzerland advanced from group play at the expense of a heralded side from Colombia. In all, 10 of the 13 European teams advanced to the knockout stage in 1994, while only two of the four South American teams made it out of the group stage. Concacaf, featuring the host USA and nearest neighbor Mexico, advanced both of its teams. Asia and Africa combined to have two of their five teams advance. That performance by Europe's best was an improvement from four years earlier on their home continent. In Italy, all four South American sides reached the knockout stage, along with Costa Rica and Cameroon. Eventual finalists Argentina were the only South American team in the quarter-finals, but Cameroon joined them. In group play, Scotland and Sweden found themselves eliminated by Brazil (expectedly) and Costa Rica (unexpectedly). These games, along with the decidedly mixed results in Qatar in 2022, aren't a particularly convincing sample size. And we have very little to go on for club games, aside from the pre-season friendlies in which European clubs sleepwalk their way through steamy matches that rake in money from US fans drawn to the stadiums by celebrity and cosplay. This Club World Cup has seen a handful of notable upsets, but they don't seem attributable to the weather. Inter Miami beat Porto indoors in Atlanta. Botafogo stunned Paris Saint-Germain on a mild night in Pasadena, also the site of the Mexican side Monterrey's draw against Italy's Inter. Auckland City drew with Boca Juniors, but, if anything, it's the Argentinians who are more used to the heat. That leaves us with Chelsea, who lost to the Brazilian side Flamengo in warm Philadelphia. But is that a function of the weather, Flamengo being better than was first thought, or Chelsea not giving this tournament the same sense of urgency as their opponents? The heat also isn't hindering attendance, or teams' offensive power. PSG's four-goal outburst took place in the best-attended match, with more than 80,000 fans nearly filling the Rose Bowl in the one unusually hot Pasadena game. More than 70,000 fans gathered in Charlotte to see Real Madrid dispatch Pachuca 3-1 despite a temperature in the mid-90s fahrenheit. Plotting all of the games' scores, attendance figures and reported temperatures shows little to no correlation — if anything, attendance and scoring have gone slightly up as the temperature rises. It appears people turn up to watch good matches, and stay away from bad matches, no matter what the temperature. But it would be stupid to deny playing in extreme heat can be dangerous. At last year's Copa América, hosted by the US, an assistant referee collapsed during a match played in suffocating heat in Kansas City. Heat also limits players' ability to play full-throttle football. One vivid example was the 2008 Olympic men's soccer final, played at midday in the cauldron of Beijing's Bird's Nest so that the stadium would be cleared in time for the evening's track and field events. Temperatures in the heat-trapping venue soared well above 100F (38C), and players were granted hydration breaks, common today but novel at the time. The lone goal was assisted by one Lionel Messi, playing alongside his current Inter Miami manager, Javier Mascherano, which perhaps bodes well for Inter's chances in the knockout rounds. The scorer was Ángel Di María, who got another game with a heat index in the mid-100s on Tuesday in Charlotte with Benfica. At some point, southern heat overcomes southern hospitality, and organizers can surely do better with scheduling. Why play a game at 3pm local time in Charlotte? Surely Fifa can work with US organizers at next year's World Cup to make sure that afternoon games are played in cities such as Seattle, San Francisco or Vancouver (although the climate crisis means even those cities endure their share of sweltering days). And yet, after Benfica took a shock 1-0 lead against Bayern in the blistering heat Tuesday in Charlotte, both teams could be seen pressing far into the opposition half. Today's elite players can, mostly, endure harsh conditions. But that doesn't mean Fifa should keep requiring them to do so when alternative schedules exist. — The Guardian Read More Liam Delap opens Chelsea account in Club World Cup win over Espérance
Irish Examiner
3 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Liam Delap opens Chelsea account in Club World Cup win over Espérance
Club World Cup: Chelsea 3 Espérance 0 It must be tough to play free-flowing football when it feels as if the game is being staged in an airless hotel room and nobody knows how to turn off the central heating. Chelsea nonetheless managed to keep their cool in suffocating conditions in Philadelphia, securing their place in the last 16 of the Club World Cup thanks to a composed 3-0 victory over Espérance. This was a positive night for Enzo Maresca, who encountered few problems after trusting his second string to see off the Tunisian champions. Liam Delap scored his first goal for his new club and although Chelsea finished behind Flamengo in Group D there are benefits to going through in second place. After all a date with Bayern Munich on Saturday has been swerved, albeit more by luck than judgment after Benfica took advantage of Vincent Kompany's disastrous attempt at rotation by nabbing top spot in Group C with a shock 1-0 win over the German champions on Tuesday afternoon. Of course, Chelsea should not take anything for granted when they head to Charlotte to face Benfica, who are experienced competitors at Champions League level. Equally, though, the picture does look rosier than after last Friday's ragged 3-1 defeat to Flamengo. A humiliating early exit has been avoided and Maresca will be pleased to have rested Cole Palmer, Moises Caicedo, Levi Colwill, Pedro Neto and Reece James against opponents as limited as Espérance. 'I am thinking game by game,' Maresca said. 'I am not thinking about the final. We know that Benfica is a top club with a top manager and top players. We are in the last 16 and the target for us is to be in the quarter-finals. 'We expected the process with Liam to be quite quick because he knows us and we know with him. We know each other very well. The process for him is quite quick. It is also because he is a very good player.' There was a distinct Conference League group stage vibe to Maresca's starting XI. He made eight changes, gave Filip Jörgensen a chance in goal, handed Christopher Nkunku his first start in attack since 17 April and caused a meltdown on social media by again finding no place for Andrey Santos in midfield, despite it being fairly standard practice for a manager to ease in a young player who has been with his new teammates for under two weeks. Maresca pointed out that there are tactical nuances for Santos to absorb. This was Chelsea's 60th game of a gruelling campaign and if one thing has become clear during Maresca's first year in charge it is that his system takes time to understand. Malo Gusto inverting from left-back and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall operating on the right wing rather than in central midfield summed up those complexities. Not that Chelsea carried out the plan well at first. Was it the consequence of the heatwave making it impossible to train properly? It was still 35C (95F) by kick-off at Lincoln Financial Field and the added treat of high humidity levels made it hard for Chelsea. The first 10 minutes were lethargic. Tosin Adarabioyo headed wide from a corner, but Espérance soon found gaps at the other end. Gusto was caught out of position, only for the defender to race back to deny Elias Mokwana, and there was more concern when Yan Sasse got behind Josh Acheampong on the opposite flank. Chelsea responded with Nkunku finding Delap, who turned and shot at Bechir Ben Saïd from 20 yards. They began to dominate and almost scored when Enzo Fernández combined with Gusto on the left. Dewsbury-Hall should have done better with a free header. Ben Saïd, looking increasingly suspect, then got away with spilling a shot from Acheampong. Enzo Fernández whacked a volley wide after good play from Noni Madueke, who was Chelsea's most dynamic player during the first half. Nkunku, who has struggled for form and fitness, drifted into pockets of space. Perhaps Maresca can still find a use for the forward if no buyer for the France international emerges this summer. Nkunku certainly has his merits, particularly in the opposition box. It is more that he continues to look out of place in this setup. Yet Chelsea were pressing as half-time approached. Espérance were not up to much. They cracked when Acheampong drove forward during stoppage time and won a free-kick on the right. Fernández crossed and Tosin guided in a clever header. Pressure lifted, Chelsea pushed again before the interval, the advantage doubled when Delap swivelled on the left, barrelled into the area and shot with his right instep. Ben Saïd, weirdly, did little but stand rooted to his line, making no attempt at a save despite the ball rolling in fairly centrally, like an outfield player having a reluctant turn in goal during a casual five-a-side game. Chelsea controlled the second half. Madueke and Nkunku shot narrowly wide; Tyrique George and Marc Guiu came on and were thwarted by Ben Saïd. Maresca was content and withdrew Delap, giving the striker a breather given that Nicolas Jackson will still be unavailable against Benfica after his red card against Flamengo. There was even a late runout for Santos, who appeared to have made a swift impact when his shot was handled and a penalty was awarded, only for the decision to be overturned after a video assistant referee review. It made no difference. Flamengo will face Bayern after drawing 1-1 with Los Angeles FC. Chelsea still eased into the knockout stages, earning €8.2m in the process, gloss added to the scoreline when Ben Saïd failed to deal with a powerful shot from George from long range. Guardian
The Irish Sun
3 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Chelsea suffer transfer blow as club chief tells them top target is NOT leaving this summer
AC MILAN have confirmed Mike Maignan will not be leaving the San Siro this summer. Chelsea had been interested in Advertisement 3 Enzo Maresca's Chelsea have been dealt a transfer blow Credit: Getty 3 AC Milan have publicly declared that goalkeeper Mike Maignan is not for sale Credit: Getty 3 Enzo Maresca had hoped to strengthen his goalkeeping options over the summer. But he has been dealt a blow after Milan confirmed Maignan is not for sale. Advertisement READ MORE ON FOOTBALL "He will be at Milan again next season." Tare continued: "There was interest from a Premier League club but in the end no agreement was found. "Also knowing that Maignan is an important point of reference not only on the pitch, but also off the pitch, we decided to focus on him for next season and to move forward together. Advertisement Most read in Football Exclusive Exclusive "Football is unpredictable, but for us he remains a point of reference in this team." BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK Djordje Petrovic had been touted as one to watch for the future. Advertisement Why Chelsea could sign Garnacho | Transfers Exposed But the 25-year-old Serbian is The Blues are through to the knockout stages of the competition in the US after a New £30million-man Join SUN CLUB for the Chelsea Files every Tuesday plus in-depth coverage and exclusives from Stamford Bridge Advertisement Chelsea will now meet Portuguese giants Benfica in the round of 16. The two sides will clash on Saturday at the Bank of America Stadium in North Carolina.
