Who would have thought that two Brazilian clubs would reach the Club World Cup quarter-finals? If Fluminense beat Al-Hilal in Orlando on Friday and Palmeiras get the better of Chelsea a few hours later in Philadelphia, one of them will make it to the final. Chelsea have already been embarrassed by one Brazilian side at the tournament – they were trounced 3-1 by Flamengo a fortnight ago in the group stage – but they are still favourites to beat Palmeiras in the quarter-finals.
The English side came out on top when the teams met in the final of the Club World Cup three years ago, winning 2-1 thanks to a 117th-minute penalty converted by Kai Havertz. At that point, a young prodigy known as “Messinho”, or little Messi, was taking his first steps in the Palmeiras academy having joined from Cruzeiro. When the teams meet again on Friday night, Estêvão Willian will be the central focus. The 18-year-old is inextricably linked to both clubs, having turned professional at one before agreeing to join the other in a deal that could be worth up to £52m.
