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FourFourTwo
FourFourTwo
Sport
Zach Lowy

State of the pitch criticised, as there's smoke but no fire in East Rutherford: Porto's 0-0 draw with Palmeiras at the Club World Cup

Palmeiras' Colombian midfielder #08 Richard Rios and FC Porto's Spanish defender #05 Ivan Marcano fight for the ball during the Club World Cup 2025 Group A football match between Brazil's Palmeiras and Portugal's FC Porto at the MetLife stadium East Rutherford, New Jersey on June 15, 2025.

When FIFA's leading decision-makers were arguing the case for the newly expanded FIFA Club World Cup, one of their main talking points was that this tournament would minimise the distance between European sides and non-European sides.

On Sunday, in a misty afternoon fixture in East Rutherford, New Jersey, it was easy to see what they meant.

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