The Club World Cup decision dominated social media and newspapers, especially among fans in Brazil. Fluminense has the opportunity to top the world rankings for the first time, as it will decide the competition against Manchester City on Friday (22).
Photo: Lance!
However, the enthusiasm shown by the Brazilians is not the same as what we saw in England. Local tabloids pay little attention to the conflict and even downplay its importance because the opponents are not widely known.
For example, the Mirror featured the award given to goalkeeper Mary Earps on the cover of its website. Earps, one of the best archers in the world, has been named the 2023 BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
The “athlete” went even further. The top priority of the site's cover shows the sacking of Steve Cooper from Nottingham Forest, as well as notes regarding Unai Emery's success at Aston Villa and hosting the 2025 Super Cup in the United States. But in addition to the lack of interest, the paper also mocked the competition.
– If there is a title at stake, Pep Guardiola wants to win it. But look, what football coach would be different? We already know what to do: in the UK, the Club World Cup doesn't mean much. We pull the same moves with the Community Shield every August, which brings together the winners of England's two biggest competitions, so imagine our smugness when teams from… see… New Zealand take part! The tabloid said the original idea made a lot of sense, but European teams had dominated the World Cup for years, so much so that the trophy seemed like a shiny object that should be brought back to the old continent.
Finally, The Guardian newspaper published an article ranking the best young players in the world, in addition to the most prominent events in English football. There is a small space on the website for a note about the Club World Cup: a letter by Rodri warning people not to pay attention to the match.
Although the priority in the United Kingdom is small, Pep Guardiola is naturally addicted to trophies, and has already expressed his desire to win the tournament.
– We want the title. Urawa played a very tough match. Now we have to recover in order to make a decision. The final match is not easy at all. Everyone should be fine, because we want to show our best version – said the Spanish captain, after the 3-0 win over Urawa Red Diamonds.
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