Juventus took less than one half to crush Al Ain - Photo: REUTERS
When FIFA first expanded the World Cup to 32 teams in 1998, fans witnessed the clearest gap between European giants and other continental football.
At the 1998 World Cup, a total of 11 matches ended with a margin of three or more goals. Seven of those were in the group stage, when European teams, plus two South American giants (Argentina and Brazil), faced opponents from other continents.
Argentina destroyed Jamaica 5-0, the Netherlands crushed South Korea with the same score, or France beat Saudi Arabia 4-0... are typical examples.
Four years later, Saudi Arabia lost to Germany 8-0. China played three matches, failed to score a single goal and conceded nine. Not only did they lose to Brazil, they were also dealt a heavy blow by Türkiye and Costa Rica.
That was football in the 1990s and early 2000s. The gap between the superpowers and the rest was too big.
Over the past two decades, this gap has been significantly narrowed. The globalization of football has brought football nations closer together.
Europeans share their formula for success with other football cultures, from science and technology, training centers to the massive waves of players and coaches pouring into East Asia, the Middle East, or North Central America - Caribbean.
At the national team level, South Korea and Japan today are no longer afraid of any strong team in the world . Even Saudi Arabia can defeat Argentina.
But the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup has stripped away all the drama. In the first round alone, there were 3 matches with a difference of 4 goals or more.
Two of them were real "massacres", when Bayern Munich crushed Auckland (New Zealand's team) 10-0, and Juventus beat Al Ain (UAE) 5-0.
In fact, Man City could have destroyed Wydad (Morocco) if they had played more seriously. And American teams like Seattle and Los Angeles could have lost even more if they had not played at home.
Not only Europe, even South America showed overwhelming strength against other continents. River Plate easily defeated Urawa Red Diamonds, while Flamengo and Botafogo also overwhelmingly defeated teams from Africa, North America...
It can be explained that clubs from Korea, Japan or African countries cannot compare to their national teams, because the top superstars have all gone to Europe to improve their careers.
But the game is fair. Asian football has always invited a series of stars from Europe and South America to play. Al Ain, the team that just lost to Juventus, has more than 10 foreign players.
FIFA has been heavily criticized for creating the FIFA Club World Cup, a tournament with rules and regulations that expose serious imbalances in football.
But also from the FIFA Club World Cup, fans really have to ask the question - are footballing nations really coming closer together?
Watch FIFA Club World Cup 2025™ live and only in Vietnam on FPT Play, at http://fptplay.vn
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/fifa-club-world-cup-chang-khac-gi-bong-da-thap-nien-1990-20250619101017665.htm
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