We were guaranteed one Brazilian club in the Club World Cup quarterfinals, but a second seemed far from certain. That the second one ended up being Fluminense might be the biggest surprise of all.

Fluminense vs. Al-Hilal

Camping World Stadium, Orlando, Florida, July 4, 2025

Kickoff: 3:00PM EDT / 4:00 PM BRT / 7:00 PM GMT

Quick hits: Perhaps Fluminense’s win over Inter Milan wasn’t quite as big an upset as it initially felt like it should be. I stand by my general thoughts before the round of 16 that Flu aren’t nearly as good a team as Flamengo. But while Inter might have just reached the Champions League final, not only did they get blown out in that game, but they spent the Club World Cup dealing with an injury crisis so severe that they sent four players home after the group stage. Bayern Munich may have lost to Inter in the Champions League, but they’re generally healthier right now and are historically much more of a club that you’d expect to show up consistently for any given game.

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