Brazilian clubs have been flying the flag for non-European teams at the Club World Cup. All four entrants made it out of their groups, Flamengo and Botafogo by securing two of the only three wins over European clubs by the rest of the world. Of the other non-Europeans, only Inter Miami and Monterrey have joined them in the knockout stages. Here are your matchups:

Palmeiras vs. Botafogo

Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, June 28, 2025

Kickoff: 12:00PM EDT / 1:00 PM BRT / 4:00 PM GMT

Quick hits: This is probably the best matchup on paper, simply because as an all-Brazilian affair neither side is the significant underdog that Flamengo and Fluminense will be. That, and these two clubs have a history of epic showdowns in recent years. There was Botafogo’s unbelievable collapse from 3-0 up in 2023, which kicked off one of the most spectacular title meltdowns I’ve ever seen, as they choked away a 13-point lead so hard that they didn’t even finish second, they ended the season fifth. The next year, they almost did it again in the Copa Libertadores round of 16, leading 4-1 after 85 minutes of the second leg only to come within a well-spotted handball of throwing the win away. Last November, Botafogo finally won comfortably, a crucial step towards securing the title they had thrown away the year before.

One of these teams will make the quarterfinal against the winner of Benfica vs. Chelsea, and on paper I’d say it’s likely to be Palmeiras. Botafogo may have engineered one of the greatest upsets in recent soccer memory when they beat the newly crowned Champions League winners on the second matchday, but the underlying stats from their group stage are pretty grim. In terms of expected goals, they got trounced, 2.31 to 6.35, and even in their game against the Seattle Sounders they gave up almost double the xG they created. Their strategy against PSG and Atlético Madrid was to defend compactly and hope to strike on the counter, and between Igor Jesus’ deflected goal and PSG’s 4-0 thrashing of Atleti, that was enough to put them in a position to advance on goal difference with anything short of a three-goal loss to the Spaniards on the final matchday.

Still, they’ve been springing surprises so far, and I’ve seen some warning signs from Palmeiras. All tournament long they’ve kind of looked like they don’t know how to shoot, particularly in their first game against Porto where they were the better team but had to settle for a scoreless draw. Add to that how easily Luis Suárez carved them up in the final group game (and that they lost Murilo with one L in the process) and there may be some vulnerability here.

Flamengo vs. Bayern Munich

Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida, June 29, 2025

Kickoff: 4:00PM EDT / 5:00 PM BRT / 8:00 PM GMT

Quick hits: If Botafogo killed the bigger giant, Flamengo’s giant-slaying was the more impressive performance, as they out-possessed, out-passed, out-shot, and vastly out-xG’ed Chelsea. Unfortunately, thanks to a heroic Benfica performance on the final matchday, all that work winning their group means Flamengo have to play Bayern Munich in the round of 16. But if there’s any Brazilian club in this tournament who can beat European opposition twice, it’s definitely this one. Of course, the only time I was actually able to watch them was in their worst performance against LAFC on the final matchday, when a mixed team missed a few chances, gave up a goal late, then clawed back an even later equalizer. Again, “these teams don’t quite seem to know how to shoot” is an unfortunately common refrain. But I like what I’ve seen from newly minted coach Filipe Luís, even if a loss on Sunday would mean he’s now lost twice as many games as he’s won trophies in his managerial career. (What a fraud, am I right? What kind of manager has only three trophies to show for his first eight months in the job?)

Internazionale vs. Fluminense

Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina, June 30, 2025

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

Quick hits: Fluminense’s opening game against Borussia Dortmund was the “well, I have to see one of these teams in person” game that fit my and my friends’ schedule, and it was a hoot. Thousands of Flu fans skipped work and braved the ungodly snarl of public transit or private parking you have to navigate to actually reach MetLife Stadium to cheer and sing their hearts out for their team, and they created easily the best stadium atmosphere I’ve been in since the last time I actually went to a game in Brazil. And on the field, the team did their part! They outplayed Dortmund outside of maybe the last ten minutes, and while like Palmeiras they couldn’t find a goal, they demonstrated that they could go toe-to-toe with a Champions League team and laid the groundwork for a comfortable(ish) advancement from the group. Whether it’s the lasting legacy of Fernando Diniz or the work of the recently appointed Renato Gaúcho (who may be a blowhard, but does have a history of teams that play like this), Fluminense have shown off some really beautiful intricate passing play in all three of their games.

Still, I think they have fewer hopes against Inter Milan than Flamengo do against Bayern, or the winner of Botafogo-Palmeiras does against the winner of Benfica-Chelsea. Partly this is because Inter just reached the Champions League final, even if they got absolutely mauled, but mostly it’s because I just don’t see where the talent they need is going to come from. Don’t get me wrong: Jhon Arias is awesome, Thiago Silva is still excellent at age 40 (assuming he’s fit enough to start; he missed out against Mamelodi Sundowns due to soreness), Fábio has done a great job in goal as he gets within 12 games of Peter Shilton’s all-time appearance record. But I can’t help but think that other key pieces of their Libertadores triumph, like Ganso and Germán Cano, are over the hill, and I’m only somewhat joking when I say that Kevin Serna is one of the worst players I’ve ever seen. Nonato, Matheus Martinelli, and Hércules make for an interesting and fairly young midfield, but I just don’t think there’s enough there on the whole. They were really bad against Mamelodi Sundowns on the final matchday, in a game they couldn’t afford to lose, and it really looked for a while like they were going to shit the bed against Ulsan HD too. I’d love to be wrong, especially after their fans put on such a show in the game I went to.