And they could promote young players.
A difficult period after Conseisau
It’s worth talking about Porto in the context of the tournament results as a whole – KCM-2025 is over for the Portuguese club. The results of this tournament and the season in general were disappointing for the “blue and white”. The team is learning to live without Sergei Conseisau. In the first season after his departure, the European Cup campaign failed (they flew away The
In the middle stage), and in the championship, they performed poorly – third place, 71 points. Initially, the Dragons hoped to limit themselves to minimal changes. Viktor Brun, who had been a member of Porto’s coaching staff for the past seven years, was appointed head coach. Six months later, the specialist resigned, and the team has since been led by Martin Anselmi. The Argentine manager has spent the past three years in the Chilean, Ecuadorian, and Mexican championships.
The start to Portugal was good (if you ignore the 1:4 defeat at Benfica) – seven wins in nine games. However, the Club World Cup was much worse.
The fight against Anderdog
The Blue and Whites reached the final round of the group stage, finishing third in their group. They scored four points from two matches against Inter Miami and Palmeiras, who were the leaders. To reach the playoffs with these and there, it was enough to draw a draw. Porto had to play against the foreign team from the group – al-Ahli of the Egyptian championship.
The Red Devils were inferior to all their competitors. Inter Miami had Lionel Messi and his former teammates at Primera B, and Palmeiras and Porto still have the best sales talent, which the clubs promote at these tournaments. Unlike the Saudi Arabian clubs, the Egyptian giants lack such resources and cannot count on top-flight players, even if they are senior players. The Red Devils’ most expensive asset is Mahmud Truseg, who is valued at five million euros.
After the first two matches, they only managed one goal – they tied Inter and lost to Palmeiras. And in those games, they never scored. It’s a matter of understanding the rival’s level.
Constantly in a position to catch up
And even so, the entire match for Porto was completely off-script. The Dragons were already able to catch up in the 15th minute. Then, they were able to equalize fairly quickly – a transfer target Mu Rodrigo Mora displayed excellent ball control, beating the defender and creating the opportunity for Golev. Nevertheless, they went to halftime, losing in the first-half penalty. Al-Ahli earned a penalty, and Abu Ali scored twice.
In the second half, the exchange of attacks became even more pronounced. Neither team allowed any opportunity to advance in the final third, and dangerous moments arose either after long-range passes or when they were thrown into the penalty area. In just four minutes, the teams scored three more times. Abu Ali responded to William Gomez’s goal with a cross from behind the penalty area—the hat-trick striker broke through the defender and closed down the throw. The Dragons scored their third goal in the 53rd minute, this time from a corner.
After the Red Devils scored in the 64th minute, the game calmed down a bit, and the teams began to take a more responsible approach to defense. The Blue and Whites had to be given a break at the end, and the goal was scored a minute before the end of the main period. Pepe caught the goalkeeper out with a long-range shot. The result was a carnival draw.
The PR assets failed
Porto always has a certain task for major tournaments: to showcase the youngsters who will enter the market in the coming years. The “Dragons” now have some interesting assets. Last season, Martim Fernandes, Thomas Peres, William Gomez, and Denise Gul were all featured in the main clip. The next level was demonstrated by Samuel Omorodion, who had joined from Atletico, plus a new wonderkid, Rodrigo Mora, a midfielder born in 2007.
Yes, several of them immediately showed their mettle during the last tour against Al-Ahli. Mora showed his stroke and goose-like instrument, while Gomez and Ororodion also confirmed that they were ready for adult football and could be leaders. But the problem is that they showed it against the foreign team of the quartet, when Porto were already one step away from the start. When the “Dragons” really needed their intervention, it was in matches against Miami and Palmeiras Inter. In those games, the Portuguese scored only one goal. It’s good that at least Samuel managed to pay attention to this – therefore, there is a demand for him now.
Porto failed Club World Cup
This is a completely objective assessment. Europeans in the group stage KCM They were considered favorites – the teams could give them some serious competition. The same can be said for Port and Group A. Yes, Palmeiras is a truly worthy opponent capable of causing problems. But with the rest of Port, they could win in class. Inter Miami has a strong imbalance between attack and defense. Messi and Suarez may work miracles, but they don’t perform at all in defense. The team receives two players less when pressing and picking up the ball, which affects the structure. The Dragons managed to concede to such an opponent.
You don’t even need to talk about Al-Ahli – they’re a team with a cost comparable to Rostov’s. Here, Porto simply had to win with class. Porto couldn’t show in the group stage that their young players were fully equipped, didn’t go to the playoffs to further relax them, and left them. KCM. For the Dragons, it’s a failure.
