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SAO PAULO: One clear and unexpected force has surged as the group stage of the Club World Cup comes to a close: Brazil.

Flamengo, Palmeiras, Botafogo and Fluminense — all Copa Libertadores winners in recent years — all advanced to the second round. All offered tough competition to the powerful European clubs, and all have excited tens of millions of fans at home.

There’s renewed hope for Brazilian fans after years of defeats against European teams in FIFA competitions.

Flamengo and Palmeiras topped their groups — Flamengo stunned Chelsea 3-1 to be the first team to qualify for the knockout rounds. Botafogo, which shocked Champions League winner Paris Saint-Germain, and Fluminense qualified in second place.

“Our first objective was the Round-of-16, but that isn’t the end objective,” Fluminense midfielder Jhon Arias said Wednesday after a 0-0 draw with South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns. All four clubs from Brazil have similar expectations for the knockout stage.

Botafogo and Palmeiras will face off Saturday, a game which guarantees at least one Brazilian club a spot in the quarterfinals. Flamengo take on Bayern Munich on Sunday and Fluminense will face Inter Milan on Monday.

Corinthians were the last Brazilian club to win the world club title, beating Chelsea in 2012. That tournament format was much smaller than the current 32-team competition which features clubs from five continents.

New optimism

Copa Libertadores champion Botafogo produced the biggest group-stage upset with the June 19 win over PSG. Before that encounter, Brazilian fans and soccer pundits expected the French club to bulldoze the carioca side, which have had ups and downs this year.

“Botafogo were the team that best defended against us in the entire season,” PSG coach Luis Enrique said. “They deserved it.”

Two factors have helped Brazilian clubs: they’re halfway through their season, unlike the European clubs which have finished, and they’re familiar with the kind of heat that has blanketed the tournament.

Still, Brazilian coaches, executives, players and fans weren’t showing much optimism before the tournament began. That has also changed, as Flamengo fans showed in Philadelphia by chanting “the time is coming” for Bayern Munich after the German club were confirmed as their next opponent.

“The cemetery of football is full of favorites,” Botafogo coach Renato Paiva said after victory over the European champions. “Almost nobody can openly face PSG. Could I try that? I could, but that was a big risk in a competition of this kind.”

Atletico Madrid’s late 1-0 over Botafogo was the only defeat for a Brazilian club in the group stage.

South American power

Brazilian teams are so competitive in South America that they have won the past six editions of the Copa Libertadores, including five all-Brazil finals. Their regional superiority can also be seen in this Club World Cup as their two Argentinian rivals in the tournament, Boca Juniors and River Plate, failed to get through the group stage.

Much of that success for Brazilians comes from talent of the rest of South America, as it has happened in the Club World Cup.

The Brazilian league attracts young footballers from across the region before they move elsewhere for money and more prestige. But some choose to stay and grow in a tough league outside of Europe, with up to six serious contenders for the trophy every year.

Flamengo playmaker Giorgián de Arrascaeta is Uruguayan. Botafogo’s key player is Venezuela’s Jefferson Savarino. Fluminense highly depend on Arias. Palmeiras are trusting more goals will come from Argentina’s Flaco López. And none of those have ever played in Europe.

“Many good things in all history that happen in football come from South America,” Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola said Sunday. “The greatest players come from there.”

Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso said ahead of Thursday’s game against RB Salzburg that European teams will benefit from “seeing the competitive level from outside.”

“Adapting is important, but we can see teams that we don’t have to day-to-day and they are very good,” said Alonso, who mentioned the Brazilian teams and River Plate among those who caught his interest. “Before the start we said it was going to be in a way with the Europeans, and now we have opened our eyes.”

Brazil has also brought in several Portuguese coaches, with success. Paiva took over Botafogo from his countryman Arthur Jorge. And Abel Ferreira has won almost every title with Palmeiras since he joined the club in 2020. That has also made Brazilian clubs more competitive.

“I am very proud to be in Brazil. I had many chances to leave and I did not,” Ferreira said at the start of the tournament.

Asked how big the gap is between his team and European clubs, Ferreira said: “It is minimal. We have to compete.”

The knockout stage of the Club World Cup will tell whether he is right.

RIYADH: Cristiano Ronaldo inked a two-year extension with Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr, the club announced Thursday, following months of speculation over which team he would sign for next season.

“Cristiano Ronaldo is staying at @AlNassrFC until 2027,” the club wrote in a post on X.

Minutes before the official confirmation, the team posted a teaser video, with the 40-year-old Ronaldo walking along a beachfront and saying: “Al-Nassr forever.”

Ronaldo later posted a message on his Instagram, confirming the extension.

“A new chapter begins. Same passion, same dream. Let’s make history together,” read the post.

The Portuguese superstar arrived in 2023 in the kingdom to play with the club, heralding a rush of players in the latter stages of their careers to the Kingdom.

Last month, Ronaldo posted “This chapter is over” hours after the Saudi Pro League wrapped up with Al-Nassr finishing third and trophyless once again.

“Ronaldo’s presence is a key factor in developing the Saudi league in the last two years and a half. He opens the door for elite and young players to come to Saudi Arabia,” a source from the Public Investment Fund (PIF), a major investor in Saudi football, told AFP last month.

Ronaldo’s announcement in May came just months after Brazilian star Neymar ended his injury-plagued 18-month stay in January, after playing just seven times for Al-Hilal — on a reported salary of around $104 million a year.

Although Ronaldo was the Pro League’s top scorer with 25 goals, he has been unable to win a Saudi or continental trophy with Al-Nassr, who lost in the Asian Champions League semifinals last month.

Last year, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner said he could end his career with the Riyadh team.

Saudi Arabia has shaken up football by spending heavily on stars from Europe, starting with Ronaldo’s move in late 2022, and the desert nation will host the World Cup in 2034.

For the past two years, Saudi football fans could watch the likes of Ronaldo and Karim Benzema, with six Ballons d’Or between them, on any given weekend during the football season in the kingdom.