GOAL US presents CWC XI: Key observations from the conclusion of the round of 16, and a look ahead to the quarterfinals

So, we finally got our actual Club World Cup upset. But how significant was it really? Al Hilal beat Man City. Awesome. Cool. We needed that (unless you're a City fan). But are City that mad, considering they get a couple weeks rest and nice chunk of cash? Who knows?

Yet we have content, and this Infantinopalooza of a football tournament is starting to look more and more legit every week. Also, there was a fair amount of controversy. One Bellingham brother is getting sillier yellow cards than the other. Lautaro Martinez doesn't like many of his teammates. Meanwhile, Thomas Muller just really hates Man United (which has nothing to do with the CWC but has somehow wiggled its way into the conversation of late).

GOAL US presents theClub World Cup XI, with key observations heading into the quarterfinals.

Getty Images1Saudi Pro League – legit?

Now there's one we all should have seen coming, right? OK, a Saudi Pro League side in the last eight might not have been on everyone's bingo card, but all of the pieces were there. Al Hilal have gone about this rather well. They resisted the urge to go for a superstar after Neymar left, hired a truly excellent manager in Simone Inzaghi, and went into their clash with City with a clear game plan. Revolutionary, that.

Pep Guardiola's whole thing is that he is absolutely terrified of being counter-attacked. Welcome to the perfect storm. Here's a 3-4-3 that to have a go on the break. Yes, it look extra time, but Al Hilal got it exactly right. Does this mean the Saudi Pro League is the best thing ever? Probably not, but it's a very good win.

AdvertisementGetty Images2If you don't like Inter, go home

Lautaro Martinez didn't pull many punches with his remarks after Inter lost to Fluminense midweek:

"I want to say that you have to want to be here. We are fighting for certain objectives, those who want to be here, stay, those who don’t can leave. I saw things that I didn’t like. I want to fight to win because we are in an important team, a team that we have brought back to the top and we must continue to do this," he told media after the game.

Part of that, of course, was the emotions of a captain and competitor who has won trophies for club and country. But it's also not a great look for the Serie A side, who have rather crumbled of late. All aboard the bad vibes train, everyone.

Getty Images3Malcom, the guy you forgot

Remember Malcom? The Barcelona one? The guy who they blew some of the Neymar cash on, only for him to be an unmitigated disaster at Camp Nou? Well, he's just knocked Man City out of the CWC. Al Hilal's upset was wonderful, and led by a guy chewed up and spat out by the machine of football's global elite.

Saudi Pro League ball is not the under-appreciated backwaters where you go for love of the game, but it is nice to see a player get one back on an entire federation that panned him off.

Getty Images4Kylian Mbappe = washed

AGENDA TIME. Right, so that's obviously untrue. There's every chance that Mbappe could score 50 goals next year, Madrid can win three trophies, and he will claim the Ballon d'Or after leading France to the 2026 World Cup.

BUT the early signs of Mbappe in an Alonso system were, well, rubbish. He didn't move. He didn't get into the box. He made the wrong runs, refused to press, and spent his 30 minutes on the pitch mostly getting mad at everyone around him. Gonzalo Garcia, who cost $0 and is 21, looked more effective, which tells you everything you need to know.