The 2025 Club World Cup, held in the United States from June 14 to July 13, has showcased more than spectacular football: physicality and exquisite adaptation to the heat have tipped the scales in favor of the South Americans, with the Brazilians leading the way.
Far from being an anecdote, the American summer atmosphere—with days of extreme heat and humidity—has become a determining factor. The South American players, accustomed to these conditions or who arrived several weeks earlier to acclimatize, displayed a resilience that PSG simply could not match.
The recent 1-0 win over Champions League champions Paris Saint-Germain (June 19 at the Rose Bowl, Los Angeles) was no fluke: Igor Jesus scored in the 36th minute, and Botafogo executed an impeccable tactical plan, nullifying French possession and attacking intelligently.
It was “a tactical clash,” according to coach Renato Paiva, who planned intensive training in Los Angeles for weeks prior, after falling victim to Brazil’s relentless schedule in December. The result speaks for itself: Botafogo leads its group with two wins, leaving PSG in silence.
The Heat: A Strategic and Physical Ally
From the start, South American coaches and players warned about the weather. Hydration protocols and cool-down breaks—introduced by FIFA in 2014—were implemented, but, crucially, the Brazilians acclimatized better.
While the Europeans suffered surges in pace followed by dips, Botafogo, Flamengo, Palmeiras, and others showed freshness and intensity until the end. It’s clear: opting to reach the tournament early in the North American heat is paying dividends.
Botafogo’s victory is also the result of a structural rebuilding since 2022, following its purchase by John Textor. The club reduced debt and assembled a solid roster: players like Igor Jesus, Barboza, and Freitas are the product of an effective economic strategy.
Both physically and financially, the Rio de Janeiro side proved superior to European clubs with astronomical budgets but less solidity, exceeding 40°C on fields like the one in LA.
The South American wave that challenges Europe
Not just Botafogo. Flamengo defeated Chelsea 3-1, and in total the Brazilians have scored 14 goals and conceded only 4, preserving the South American continent’s unbeaten record. FIFA itself recognized the South American energy that runs through the country and began considering bringing the tournament to Brazil in 2029.
Weather conditions aren’t a technical detail: they’re pure geopolitics. Playing in Los Angeles or Dallas in June isn’t the same as playing in Manchester or Munich. The body knows it before the brain. While the European clubs arrived under a tight schedule (fresh from the Champions League and its media-fueled celebrations), the South American teams arrived with the local tournament underway, but sent early delegations to acclimatize. Some teams, like Botafogo, arrived up to 18 days before the opening match.
Result?: A team that breathes the warm air and runs as if it were their natural habitat, versus another suffering from the chronic dehydration of someone who can’t understand why their body isn’t responding. Sometimes football isn’t defined by tactics or talent, but by the lungs.
It Wasn’t Just Botafogo
Fogão’s victory wasn’t an isolated case. Flamengo beat Chelsea, Palmeiras played Manchester City, and even Fluminense held Bayern Munich to a stalemate. They all came into the tournament with a common logic: physical adaptation and competitive focus.
South American football is taking this Club World Cup seriously because it is—in many ways—its last international opportunity. It no longer wins Libertadores Cups against UEFA, it doesn’t export talents that return as champions, and its economies are declining in dollarization. But in this tournament, they have something that Europe can’t buy: necessity.
And that necessity, when trained well, becomes a virtue. It’s no wonder John Textor, owner of Botafogo, designed a gringo preseason months beforehand, aware of the paradigm shift. It was a planned gamble. And it paid off.
PSG, drowning in excuses
PSG coach Luis Enrique said after the defeat that “the team couldn’t find its rhythm and the heat was a determining factor.” Translation: we were roasted alive.
The thermal effect shouldn’t be underestimated in a sport played on the run. FIFA authorized hydration breaks at the 30th minute of each half. That’s two breaks per game plus the usual ones. As if we were in Qatar. But this isn’t the desert: it’s California. With 39 degrees and 70% humidity.
PSG didn’t play badly. They simply didn’t play at the pace that Botafogo could maintain. And in a sport where sprinting is more important than possession, that’s all there is to it.
What if a South American team wins the Club World Cup?
The question that until recently seemed utopian—can a South American team win a modern Club World Cup?—doesn’t seem so absurd today. FIFA expanded the format: 32 teams, 4 groups of 8, a World Cup schedule. It’s no longer a December express tournament between two European teams, one Brazilian, and an Arab team with more dollars than titles. Now there are phases, temperature, travel, and… heat.
And that heat could be what evens things out. Not because it’s fair. But because it’s an element that neither UEFA nor the Qatar Investment Authority can control.
For decades, the star player was the skillful number 10. Then came the physical-tactical one: the Xavi who thinks and the Kanté who runs. Now, in the 2025 Club World Cup, the new star player is the one who doesn’t collapse in the 70th minute.
Physical preparation and acclimatization strategy are the new variables. And in that, Brazil is light years ahead of European football, which still hasn’t understood that the era of air conditioning doesn’t work on the pitch.
Botafogo might not win the tournament. They may lose in the quarterfinals or the semis. But what this win against PSG made clear is that South American football still has a say in the big leagues. They just need to prepare as if the tournament were crucial. Because it is.
The heat doesn’t discriminate. But it does punish those who don’t train. In this Club World Cup, more than ever, talent isn’t enough if you’re short on oxygen.
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