

PHILADELPHIA — Lincoln Financial Field may have been confused for being the site of a Copa Libertadores final as fans of Palmeiras and Botafogo unveiled tifos, beginning a war of noise to rival the players clashing on the pitch. Instead, it was the scene of the Club World Cup round of 16, following a group stage where Brazilian teams have been leading the charge in bringing passion on and off the pitch and showing that they are more than ready to compete with Europe’s best.
Following a quite physical match, only Palmeiras would be left standing in this competition, defeating Botafogo 1-0 thanks to Paulinho’s goal in extra time.
Flags were waved and tifos were unveiled as chants of “Palmeiras” and other songs rang out, and Botafogo keeper John Victor did all he could to protect his net, but eventually the pressure was too much. PSG boss Luis Enrique already praised the Botafogo defense following their upset win over his club in the second game of the group stage, and their resilience showed again on Saturday, but Palmieras had too much in their corner in the extra-time affair.
The other Brazilian teams left, Flamengo and Fluminense, will still have a chance to join them, but they’ll have quite a task in looking to take down Bayern Munich and Inter, respectively. A Brazilian team hasn’t won the competition since Corinthians in 2012, despite the Brazilian Serie A having a representative in the final in four of the last 10 editions of this competition, but they’re making a strong showing to change that this year.
It’s already been the first edition where a Brazilian team has knocked off one from UEFA since 2012, and it’s a feat that has happened more than once, as both Botafogo and Flamengo were able to accomplish the feat, beating PSG and Chelsea, respectively.
Botafogo’s run may be over, but it’s a memorable one and one that they can be extremely proud of in a tough tournament.
“The work that Botafogo has done since we came to the U.S. has a lot of pride to offer us. We all want to win, but only one team could. We have no reason to believe that we were behind Palmieras during the match, there were times that they were better and there were times that we were better,” Botafogo manager Renato Paiva said. “For a team that’s been working with this staff for only a few months and with new players, to play against these other teams, we have only reasons for fans to feel pride in us. In the dressing room, I forbade them to keep their heads down because they should feel pride, and today, Botafogo made themselves known to the world.”
For Botafogo, a memorable tournament comes to a close with change on the horizon as Igor Jesus and Jair Cunha are expected to join Nottingham Forest in the Premier League, but with their advancement in the tournament, they’ll have more resources to bring in replacements. It’s something that they’re used to needing to replace Thiago Almada and other players from their strong squad last campaign, and it has been part of the reality of success in Brazil when successful teams have players catch the eye of clubs abroad.
Next up for Palmeiras, they’ll be staying in Philadelphia to face the winner of Chelsea and Benfica on the fourth of July, giving fans even more time to prepare for the occasion. They had numerous tifos, plenty of songs, and were more prepared for Botafogo, and they’ll need just as much in the next round, especially with center back Gustavo Gomes unavailable after collecting his second yellow card deep into extra time to be suspended for the quarterfinals.
South American fans have been among the stories of the tournament so far, but already losing the Argentine sides during the group stage of the Club World Cup, they’ll need a club to carry their banner not only through the knockouts but also into trying to win this tournament. Brazilian soccer used to be at the center of the world, and the Club World Cup can be a chance to send a reminder of that. Palmeiras made it to the final of this competition in 2021, falling to Chelsea, and they could have a chance to avenge that, depending on how things break.
“If we win, great. If we lose, at least we have to give our very best and that’s just what we did today,” Palmeiras manager Abel Ferreira said. “I have no words to describe our fans, they were passionate and supported us until the very end.”
They have not reached their end yet, and they don’t plan on that being anytime soon.
This news was originally published on this post .
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