FIFA Club World Cup: The quarterfinals in detail

Europe has dominated, Brazil has fought and Saudi Arabia has surprised. This is how the FIFA Club World Cup, a competition that is down to its final stretch with just over a week to go before the curtain closes, can be defined so far. The quarterfinals is the next phase.

With Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund as the last teams to qualify, the quarterfinals of the FIFA Club World Cup are already set, with two clashes between European teams as major attractions in this round of the competition and with the presence of an unexpected side among the top eight.

Real Madrid-Borussia Dortmund

Real Madrid vs. Borussia Dortmund is a typical UEFA Champions League clash, due to the number of times they have had to measure their forces. Now they will do so in a totally different environment to the one they are used to, thousands of miles away from their stadiums, in the FIFA Club World Cup.

Both enter the quarterfinals with a similar record: they drew their first match and won the next three.

In the case of Real Madrid, they made their FIFA Club World Cup debut with a 1-1 draw against Al Hilal. However, they have recovered from that stumble and stringed together three consecutive wins: Pachuca (3-1), Salzburg (3-0) and Juventus (1-0).

Within the Real Madrid squad, ahead of Kylian Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior, homegrown player Gonzalo García has stood out and become one of the stories of this FIFA Club World Cup with the three goals he has already scored.

Borussia Dortmund failed to win against Fluminense (0-0) on the first day of the group stage. In the other three matches they have played, they have not conceded, although they suffered the occasional hiccup against lower-ranked opponents: Mamelodi Sundowns (4-3), Ulsan HD (1-0) and Monterrey (2-1).

One of the great attractions of the duel between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund was to see the Bellingham brothers, Jude and Jobe, face each other. However, due to a yellow card he picked up against Monterrey, Jobe, the younger, will miss the match due to suspension. Real Madrid will have to keep an eye on Serhou Guirassy, the offensive pillar for the Germans.

PSG-Bayern

The other of the two head-to-heads between European teams is PSG-Bayern, another fascinating matchup. Paris Saint-Germain arrived at this FIFA Club World Cup in high spirits after winning the first UEFA Champions League in its history weeks ago. In front of them will be Bayern Munich, one of the most successful and respected institutions in the soccer world.

As with Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, both teams have the same record going into the quarterfinals: three wins and one loss.

The Parisians placated Atlético Madrid (4-0) on the first day of the group stage. But, against all odds, they suffered a thrashing against Botafogo (0-1) on the following matchday. They dispelled any doubts against the Seattle Sounders (2-0) and, later on, they eliminated Inter Miami (4-0).

It is not easy to highlight any individual player in PSG's competitive squad. Perhaps João Neves and Achraf Hakimi have been the French capital side's best performers at this FIFA Club World Cup so far.

On the other side of the field will be Bayern Munich, who started the tournament by sweeping Auckland City (10-0), the biggest win of the FIFA Club World Cup. Then they got rid of Boca Juniors (2-1), but Benfica prevented the Germans from winning all their matches by defeating them 1-0. In the round of 16, they knocked out Flamengo (4-2).

With 16 goals scored in four games, there are several Bayern players who are standing out, mainly attacking players such as Harry Kane, Michael Olise or Jamal Musiala.

The winner of the PSG-Bayern clash will face either Real Madrid or Borussia Dortmund in the semifinals, so UEFA is guaranteed a place in the FIFA Club World Cup Final.

Chelsea-Palmeiras

On the other side of the draw, only one European team remains: Chelsea. The British side, a priori, seems the clear favorite to be in the final on July 13. But before that they will have to pass two tests. The first will be against Palmeiras, who have entered the quarterfinals as one of the two remaining Brazilian teams in the FIFA Club World Cup.

Chelsea have made it to this point in a somewhat different way than Palmeiras: the Brits have a record of three wins and one loss, while the Brazilians won two games and drew two others.

In the group stage, Los Angeles FC were Chelsea's first victim (2-0). However, the "Blues" suffered a surprise defeat against Flamengo (1-3) on matchday two. In the following game, they recovered by defeating Esperance Tunis. To reach the quarterfinals, they needed extra time to finish off Benfica, although they ended up beating them in extra time (4-1).

Whether Chelsea will be in the semifinals will depend on how important figures in their squad, such as Enzo Fernández, perform.

Facing them will be Palmeiras. During the group stage, they drew twice against Porto (0-0) and Inter Miami (2-2) and won against Al Ahly (2-0). In the round of 16, they had to measure forces against Brazilian rival Botafogo, whom they defeated in extra time (1-0).

Striker Paulinho, who is being used off the bench in the second half of each match, will be Palmeiras' main weapon to try to eliminate Chelsea.

Al Hilal-Fluminense

Neither of these sides have tasted defeat at this FIFA Club World Cup. And, moreover, they arrive loaded with esteem to the quarterfinals after eliminating two powerhouses such as Manchester City and Inter Milan. Al Hilal and Fluminense reach the quarterfinal round with a duel that will define which team is the Cinderella of the competition.

The record of the two teams in the FIFA Club World Cup is exactly the same: two wins and two draws.

When it looked like they would not advance beyond the group stage after draws against Real Madrid (1-1) and Salzburg (0-0), a 2-0 win over Pachuca kept Al Hilal, the sole representative of Saudi Arabia, in the competition. In the round of 16, they stunned by eliminating Manchester City in a duel that, with extra time included, ended with seven goals (4-3).

Players with a lot of experience in important moments such as Ruben Neves, João Cancelo, Sergej Milinković-Savić, Kalidou Koulibaly, Malcolm or Yassine Bounou will fight to take Al Hilal to the semifinals.

Fluminense put in a discreet but effective performance in the group stage, drawing against Borussia Dortmund (0-0) and Mamelodi Sundowns (0-0) and beating Ulsan HD (4-2). In the round of 16, they starred in another of the best wins of this FIFA Club World Cup, finishing off Inter Milan (2-0).

Among the list of available players, two stand out, two veterans with many miles on their legs: Thiago Silva and Ganso.

Whoever wins, they will meet either Chelsea or Palmeiras in the semifinals, battling for one of the two spots in the final.