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It's black & red vs. red & white in a clash of two clubs steeped in tradition! FC Bayern will have to overcome a major hurdle in the round of 16 of the Club World Cup on Sunday (live text from 22:00 CEST and 16:00 local time on fcbayern.com and in the FC Bayern app): In their first ever match against the Brazilians of CR Flamengo, the men from Munich are being considered favourites - even though the team from Rio de Janeiro managed to finish the group stage ahead of Chelsea. We’ve put together all the key information on the match against the in-form South Americans for you in our preview.
Saturday's final training session in pictures:
Latest news from Bayern
Going into FC Bayern's final group match against Benfica, the situation was clear: a point would be enough to win the group. However, after an unnecessary 1-0 defeat against the Portuguese side despite having more chances, the Bavarians ultimately had to settle for second place in Group C, and now face the winners of Group D, Flamengo Rio de Janeiro. The six-time UEFA Champions League winners will be looking to return to winning ways against the Brazilians and seal their place in the last eight. The last few days of training at their base camp in Orlando have been used to focus on the knockout tie. And FCB will be on their guard: "They have clear ideas, the players believe in these ideas. It's a mix of top-level discipline in defence and attacking ideas from the whole team," said FC Bayern coach Vincent Kompany at his pre-match press conference: "Flamengo bring all that to the pitch. Of course they're a Brazilian team, but we can expect a top-level European clash."
Miami is a familiar venue for the Munich side - Harry Kane & Co. already won 2-1 against Boca Juniors at the Miami Dolphins' stadium in the group stage. "It'll probably be a similar atmosphere to the one against Boca. We want to deliver our best performance, that's our focus," said Kompany. Tens of thousands of Flamengo fans are expected to flock to the stadium in the city with a South American character on Sunday. Bayern are ready for a sizzling match in the afternoon sun in the Sunshine State.
The opponents: CR Flamengo
CR Flamengo is a club steeped in tradition and the Brazilians head into the game with quite some momentum. Undefeated in the group stage, they progressed with wins against Espérance Tunis (2-0), Chelsea (3-1) and a 1-1 draw against Los Angeles FC. The team impress with their fast link-up play, technical finesse and strong individual talents such as top scorer Giorgian de Arrascaeta and new signing Jorginho. In the dugout, they have Filipe Luís, a former world-class defender who has put Flamengo on course for the title. It's the first competitive match between the two clubs - we're in for a real top-class game.
We took a closer look at our upcoming opponents:
Match facts
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It'll be FC Bayern's first meeting with Brazilian opponents in a competitive match since the 1976 Intercontinental Cup final, when they defeated Cruzeiro 2-0 over two legs. For Flamengo, however, it'll be their fourth ever competitive encounter with European opponents - after two previous clashes with Liverpool and a 3-1 win over Chelsea in the group stage of this year's Club World Cup.
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Reason for optimism against the Brazilians: FC Bayern have never lost two consecutive games under coach Vincent Kompany. In addition, the German record champions have only failed to score in two consecutive matches in all competitions once in the past ten years, namely against Bayer 04 Leverkusen and Lazio in February 2024.
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Flamengo are unbeaten in 11 games in all competitions (eight wins, three draws) and have conceded just five goals in that period. Moreover, the team from Rio have allowed just seven attempts on target in their three group games at the Club World Cup.
What our boys had to say about the game:
Team News
Kompany has a full squad at his disposal in Miami. Minjae Kim, who has been struggling recently, has also travelled with the team to the south of Florida. A decision on Jamal Musiala’s involvement will be taken at short notice after he was rested against Benfica. "The important thing for Jamal is that he's training and is back - better than if he wasn't there at all. But his role? We'll have to wait and see and decide tomorrow whether he can play. When you come back from injury and haven't had any friendlies, you then have to integrate into the team during a competition. It's the same situation as with Minjae," said the coach at his press conference.
All FIFA Club World Cup matches are being broadcast live and for free by streaming service DAZN, although broadcasters will differ in some countries.
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