Was The Club World Cup A Success & Who Were The Standout Players?

0:00For adults with Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis symptoms, every choice matters. Tremphaya offers self-injection or intravenous infusion from the start. Tremphaya is administered as injections under the skin or infusions through a vein every four weeks, followed by injections under the skin every four or eight weeks. If your doctor decides that you can self-inject Tremphaya, proper training is required. Tremphaya is a prescription medicine used to treat adults with moderately to severely active Crohn's disease and adults with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis. Serious allergic reactions, increased risk of infections or lower ability to fight them and liver problems may occur.

0:40Before treatment, get checked for infections and tuberculosis. Tell your doctor if you have an infection, flu-like symptoms or need a vaccine. Explore what's possible. Ask your doctor about Tremphaya today. Call 1-800-526-7736 to learn more or visit TremfireRadio.com. When you think like an athlete, setbacks don't stop you. But mindset alone doesn't get you moving again. That's where Icy Hot steps in. Ice works fast. Heat makes it last. So when the rest of the world settles because of a setback, Icy Hot accelerates your comeback with fast-acting, powerful pain relief. Icy Hot. You're so back. You pushed hard today.

1:30Now give your body what it needs tonight. Before you drift off, reach for Icy Hot Nighttime Recovery Roll-On for fast-acting pain relief with a blend of lavender and eucalyptus. It'll help soothe muscles and joints while you sleep, supporting overnight recovery, setting you up for a stronger comeback the next day. After a painful day, make Icy Hot part of your nighttime recovery ritual. Icy Hot. You're so back.

2:07Alan Shearer:Hello and welcome to The Rest is Football with Alan Shearer, Alex Aljo and me, Gerolinica. No Micah Richards, who's just disappeared on a train somewhere. We'll never see him again, possibly. We've come to the end of the Club World Cup now in the US Yes, and Chelsea will have the honour of calling themselves world champions for the next few years. On today's show, we'll discuss the tournament as a whole and pick out some of the best players and best moments. Before we get into that, though, we should start with what we've made of the new revamped Club World Cup. Success, do we think? Yeah, definitely a success.

2:48No one knew what to expect, but you can't say it hasn't been a success. So you see just how much the players wanted to win it. Even yesterday, the scenes at full time, I know they were pretty ugly scenes. No one wants to see that, but I think it just proved what it meant to them and how gutted those PSG players were. I just think those scenes, the final whistle, of course we didn't want to see them, But I think it just proved what the tournament meant to these players, how much they wanted to win it. I think Marescu compared it to winning the Champions League. So I think it is that level now. And it was the first year, so it's only going to get better and better.

3:29But 100 % of success. 81 ,000 in the MetLife yesterday.

3:32Gary Lineker:I didn't have a clue what to expect. I think like most people, we were sat waiting. I felt as if it was pretty much expected. a bit slow. Some of the games in the early were tedious. There's not a lot of fans there. But once I think we got to the knockout stages, then I think it ramped up. There's no doubt about it. You tried telling, I don't know, Al-Ala or Fluminense or Chelsea that it wasn't a successful tournament. It's been huge for those guys. You know as a player, once you're in a competition, you want to win it. You could tell that they were in a serious business. And I think it has been a big success in the end because, as I said, I didn't know what to expect.

4:20Remember doing those first two episodes, teams that we haven't seen, really, and just doing really, really well against teams we do see regularly. I think Pep summed up, didn't he, when he was like, yes, South American teams are very good at football, by the way. Like, wake up, wake up.

4:41Gary Lineker:but yeah no it was great it was great so good it still doesn't change my uh my mind on the players and the players welfare and what have you you you know and I've said it for years is that like the argument about I'm on the other side of it it's like I I want to see players play football but there has to be there has to be a bit of give for the players because I mean you use the these use the two PSG and use Chelsea as an example now. I mean, what, Chelsea are going to be off for two or three weeks and then they're going to be back playing games again into Premier League football. I mean, you can't tell me.

5:16Gary Lineker:And then players go again for next year for the World Cup. So they get a small break again after the World Cup. So the international players and the top players that are playing for big clubs and big countries that are going deep into competitions, you have to think, where is this going to stop for them? and how are they going to be protected?

5:35Alan Shearer:I think that's a genuine issue, Alan, and I think that's something that the game has got to somehow address. I saw some interesting quotes over the last couple of days from FIFA Pro, which is basically the World Players Union, and they're saying, well, this has got to change. We need a seat at the table. The players don't decide. You've got people there on ego trips getting big trophies and presidents of FIFA and UEFA. And for them, it's just another tournament. It's about making more money and making, you know, yes, yes, it's making might make the sport more popular in other countries like trying out to.

6:12Alan Shearer:Well, they've always been trying to crack it in America. I'm not sure they ever really will. And but they've got to take into consideration players welfare because it's not necessarily the fact that the players will complain about playing a lot of football. But I've said so often what you'll end up having is tired footballers playing tired football and the people, the paying spectators that keep the game alive will be seeing football that's not as good as it should be. And I think that's the main complaint. Also, players will get injured, more injuries. The medical side of things have looked into that.

6:47Alan Shearer:So, you know, the game has got to come together and footballers who produce, you know, everything on the pitch, they need to have a say. And I think that's really important. I think one place they could start immediately, immediately to make a slight difference, is get rid of extra time. Now, bizarrely, we didn't really have any extra time in this tournament, hardly at all. But generally, in all competitions, get rid of extra time. Maybe just keep it for a World Cup final or an FA Cup final or a Euros final, just the final because, you know, just to give perhaps a little bit more chance of getting a result in normal time.

7:29Alan Shearer:But that's one way they can make a slight difference without addressing too much of the football. It won't make that much difference. But honestly, extra time football is, players are shattered. It's incredibly, it's an incredibly physical sport. So there was some downsides. I think the stadiums were way too big for the early stages of the tournament. So therefore they looked half empty. You could have done it in smaller stadiums because I always thought this was going to be, I think this will become a big event. but it's finding its feet at the moment and that probably wasn't the best way to do it.

8:01Alan Shearer:The playing surfaces as well, spoke to one or two of the players. I heard Bellingham complaining about them. I was talking to Steve Parrish. He was saying that the pitches here are basically laid and just rolled on some turf, rolled on on the top of AstroTurf and apparently incredibly hard surfaces, which is not going to help the players either. So we've got to think the game has got to think more about the players' welfare. Will it? I don't know. But maybe it's time for the players to stand up for themselves a little bit more. FIFA Pro suddenly starting to speak out a little bit, which is a good thing.

8:40Alan Shearer:Success sides of the tournament were the fact that it was more competitive. It wasn't just Europe wiping the floor with everyone. We saw a Brazilian team in the semifinal. I think that's a good thing. Having said that, it was obviously still an all-European final because the best players in the world play in Europe by and large. But there was lots of cheers. The big stadium for the final, it was sold out, it was full. it was jumping in there so yeah all in all I thought it was as good as they could probably have hoped for really for the first go yeah definitely I think kickoff times is tricky as well because playing midday in Philadelphia it was so hot and then I think three o 'clock they played quite a few of them right because of time difference I get that the semis and the final yes exactly but the players are complaining about that as well because it was boiling, wasn't it?

9:40Wasn't it, Gary? You know, drenched pitch side. We're just stood still. We're not running around in it. But I understand that we're five hours behind the UK here and obviously it is difficult. But yeah, and also it's every four years, isn't it? So it's the Club World Cup before was every year. This one is going to be every four years, but it's always going to be the year before a World Cup.

10:05Alan Shearer:It's going to be hard. And yes, it was hot. But the thing is, you know why they want to play it in America. They've always been trying. They keep playing World Cups in America. It's always going, I think, to be a minority sport in this country. It is growing. The appeal is growing. There's more kids play it than any other sport at schools and stuff. But is it ever going to be the takeover from American football? I suspect not. Does football need to do that? I don't think so. But if it was in Europe, you'd have had later kickoffs. Even though Europe's hot, you'd have had games at night. But the World Cup's here next year and I guess the kickoff times are going to be spaced out in a similar way to appease European viewing bodies, which is obviously the mainstay, I think, probably of broadcasting.

10:55Alan Shearer:That's probably not entirely fair, but in other parts of the world as well. So the kickoffs will be spread out and we'll have the same problems. and hopefully they'll sort the pitches out as well because that is an issue if they're dangerously hard.

11:13Gary Lineker:And also, guys, in a lot of the group games, teams had to go off, didn't they, for safety reasons and they had to abandon the game for two hours on one occasion, I think it was, which Maresca said that was just not acceptable for players to go off the pitch for that long and then to come back on. So that's another thing they'll have to look at. That was in Charlotte. That was crazy because of the lightning, that two-hour delay, I remember. Then they almost lost to Benfica, didn't they, as a result? They were four minutes away from winning the game. And then, anyway. But yeah, they were watering the pitch yesterday, the middle of the game, bringing the sprinklers on.

11:51Well, they don't have sprinkler systems.

11:53Alan Shearer:They don't actually have sprinklers like we do in Europe because they're generally on astroturf surfaces. and as I said, they roll the pitch on the top so they're not got, so they were bringing these giant hoses on. I needed it. They're putting out fires. Spray me. They're spraying them around. Quite nice actually. Moderately soaked at one point and I was quite thankful for it. Let's take a little break now. When we come back, let's just, we'll go quickly through player of the tournament and our team of the tournament, etc. Back shortly. This episode is brought to you by Wise. It's only when you start moving money between currencies that you really think about the exchange rate, the fee and what might be hidden away in the small print.

12:39Alan Shearer:Whether you're living abroad, paying someone overseas or just trying to manage your money across borders, you want a fair exchange rate, an easy transfer and no surprises along the way. Wise keeps things simple. Wise is a smart way to move the currencies you need around the globe. It works in more than 160 countries and with over 40 currencies. Most transfers arrive instantly. Wise uses the mid-market exchange rate, like the one you see on Google, with no markups or hidden fees. So when money needs to move, you can see the rate, know the fee and get on with it. Join millions saving billions on hidden fees by downloading the Wise app today.

13:19Alan Shearer:Be smart, get wise, T's and C's apply. Did you know that psoriatic arthritis may progress over time and could cause permanent joint damage if left untreated?

13:34Listen to what it sounds like to be a million miles away.

13:42Trimphia gusocomab, taken by injection, is a prescription medicine for adults with active psoriatic arthritis. Serious allergic reactions, increased risk of infections or lower ability to fight them and liver problems may occur. Before treatment, get checked for infections and tuberculosis. Tell your doctor if you have an infection, flu-like symptoms or need a vaccine. Imagine being a million miles away. Explore the possibilities. Ask your doctor about Trimphia. Tap this ad to see new joint data and learn more about Trimphia. including important safety information. Evening. Buyer's remorse. Buy a new car?

14:27I'll be moving in. Let's get started. Sorry, I think there's been a mistake. I bought it from Carvana. You what? Yeah, great price. I even have seven days to love it or return it. So there's no... No, no buyer's remorse. More like buyer's rejoice? I guess I'll let myself out. Congratulations. I mean it. Buyer's rejoice. Buy your car today on Carvana. Limitations and exclusions may apply. See our seven-day return policy at Carvana.com.

14:55Alan Shearer:Welcome back to The Rest is Football with Alex Aljo, Alan Shearer and me, Gary Lineker. Right, let's start. We're going to go through the tournament. We know Chelsea won the tournament. We'll start with the big one, player of the tournament. It was efficiently given, of course, to Cole Palmer, particularly, I suspect, for his magnificent performance in the final. It'd be hard to look past him. Perhaps someone like Gonzalo Garcia, García, I should say, would have pushed him closer. But Cole Palmer?

15:29Gary Lineker:Yeah, has to be. I vote Cole. Has to be. It's too good. He's everywhere. He's on all the billboards here, isn't he? Scary good. His face is everywhere I look.

15:41Alan Shearer:Scary good. Scary good. It was. Scary good. I actually there was a fantastic thing I don't know whether you saw it because in Times Square they've got obviously we all know they've got these huge screens and stuff but it's mostly about the football and as you quite rightly said Alex there's one there of Cole Palmer and it's got you know scary good and then that sort of thing on social media where he's on a little scooter did you see him in a little hoodie he's going around Times Square he's probably going to have a look at his I mean I would if I'd seen me on a when you talk skyscraper. I want to see the image of him.

16:18Alan Shearer:And he was there going around his scooter with a little gold ball. I love him. He's so unaffected by all this nonsense. He just doesn't care, does he? He doesn't care. So good. Brilliant.

16:30Gary Lineker:I know they've got some big buildings over there, by the way, but they'd have to be pretty big to get your lugs on the buildings over there, guys.

16:38Alan Shearer:I knew that was coming. I was thinking, here he comes. Absolutely. You're on the billboard in Union Square. Oh, you as well. It's the advert for the podcast, isn't it?

16:49Gary Lineker:Oh, yeah, we saw that. Someone sent a picture. So good.

16:52Alan Shearer:Exciting times for the podcast. The rest is football strikes in New York. Absolutely. Absolutely brilliant. Right. Goal of the tournament. Let me talk you through a few just to remind you, because it's hard to remember, isn't it? The Yildiz goal against Wydad, half-volleyed, and he flew in the top corner, remember, from outside the box.

17:23Alan Shearer:Fabian Ruiz against Atletico. Beautiful bit of interplay by PSG before he smashed it home. Ruiz from the edge of the box. Desiree Douay. And still, PSG worked the situation for the shots. And the goal. Fabian Ruiz. There was Suarez versus Palmeiras. Lovely solo goal. Beat a couple of players before finishing emphatically. So Luis Suarez still for Inter Miami. Lauturo Martinez. I love that one against the Rau at Red Diamonds. Overhead kick directly from a corner. Brilliant improvisation, I thought. All inflicting. And Inter are level. Jesus Corona against also against for Monterrey against our Red Diamonds that was a real stunning long range effort it's Corona Savinho of course against Juventus thunderously hit shot from the edge of the box off the underside of the bar they're always quite good when they rattle the underside of the bar I think oh but you can't

18:33Gary Lineker:legislate for that it's a thunderbolt

18:41Alan Shearer:And Esteval against Chelsea, his soon-to-be club. Brilliant finish, high into the net from a very tight angle.

18:52Alan Shearer:And João Pedro, well, there's two to pick from in the semi-final. Possibly a second one, arguably the better one. João Pedro!

19:05He's done it again!