Club World Cup XI: The oldies are golden, be afraid of Man City, Brazil maximizes moment - key takeaways as CWC group stage wraps

Isn't it lovely, watching the old lads kick a ball just a little longer? Sergio Ramos is nearly 40, and his time at the top is well over. Angel Di Maria convinced everyone that he was going to leave Benfica, but then decided by himself that he fancied one last summer. Luis Suarez, Luka Modric, Thomas Muller - they're all still here in the Club World Cup, doing their thing.

And they have all made an impact. Ramos is still a madman who likes to crunch attackers for fun. Di Maria can still do silly things with a football. Suarez - more on him later - still has moments of magic. Meanwhile, Modric and Muller remain magnificent, aging with such grace.

Those who religiously watch MLS every week will tell you that Suarez isn't the player he once was. Watching him now actually physically hurts your knees. He cannot move like he used to. But every now and then, he does something magical. He scored a vintage goal for Miami against Palmeiras to round off the group stage, and kept the Herons in the tournament - the only MLS club to make that claim - with one characteristic moment of ricocheting genius.

Who among us really doubted that Man City would figure this out? Give Pep Guardiola a ton of cash and he will do something scary with it. City have toyed with their lineup this tournament, and spent a fair bit of time at the beach, too (turns out Guardiola still has a decent first touch).

But they've also been devastatingly good at football, something they proved with an absolute shellacking of Juventus on Thursday night. Rodri is back, Omar Marmoush looks good, Erling Haaland kick ball good, and Phil Foden is humming again. Football is probably more boring when City are this good. Get ready for a Premier League snoozefest.

Everyone suggested that South American teams would be good at the CWC. But who actually truly believed it? Sure, the trendy guys and European vets spit out platitudes about "no easy games" and "treating everyone with respect." But these lot weren't supposed to be beating PSG and topping groups.

Plot twist: they're all here - and all four are really rather good. You'd back Flamengo against Bayern, while Fluminense have a real shot against Inter, too. It would be wonderful to have a Brazilian team in the semis, and that could quite comfortably be a reality now. Take that, Eurosnobs.

Well, thank you for bloody showing us something, Xabi. The first two games, Madrid played 4-3-3, and looked more or less the same team as last year: immensely individually talented but lacking in coherence. How about we do away with that and start doing something cool?

Alonso set up Madrid in a funky, fresh and fun 3-5-2 against RB Salzburg, and coaxed a 3-0 battering out of his side as a result. Something might be happening in the Spanish capital if this continues to work.

Juve have not been tested whatsoever this CWC. For their first two fixtures, it was a sense of checking boxes. And they did so remarkably well, beating Al Ain and Wydad with the kind of conviction a top Italian side should. And then came City, a European giant who can actually play football.

Juve got an absolute hiding, the gulf in quality immense as they slumped to a 5-2 defeat. Turns out the gap between Europe's absolute elite and the upper middle class is wider than some might have thought.

Has there really been a sweetheart team at this CWC? The World Cup, every time, always gives the world one team to fall in love with: Morocco, Ghana, Nigeria, South Korea. Who are the good guys this time?

Well, it typically helps to be good at the sport if you are to be everyone's fave. Mamelodi are a good squad, but laughably poor defensively. They delivered the best game of the tournament in losing 4-3 to Dortmund, but have struggled otherwise. It's a shame, because they play some lovely football.

There's your heartwarming moment, then. Boca Juniors fans everywhere yelled in Spanish when Auckland City scored from a corner to equalize against the Argentine giants. But if you're not a sucker for blue and yellow, who cares? Auckland City, for the billionth time, are a team of amateurs. The guy who scored the goal is literally a PE teacher. If you can't be happy for them for that, then you don't like fun or football.

Speaking of Argentinian clubs, it was a poor final matchday for the other South American squads. Boca and River brought so much to the CWC with their passionate fans and wonderful culture. They provided memorable moments aplenty off the field, with one fan claiming he burned his car to take the insurance write off and fly to America. Their play on it, though, has been rather miserable, and neither side can say they deserved to make it out of their group. See you in 2029, and gracias.

As a sidenote, in what world is it a good idea to wear a Boca shirt among River fans? If anything, the scenes at the Rose Bowl - a Boca fan being forced to rip his shirt off in the River end after taking verbal abuse - showed that the U.S. is legit in its fandom. Yeah, you still can't mess with those guys over here.

But also, why would you even try this? We're talking one of the most hostile rivalries on Earth. Testing it is dangerous - if admittedly slightly funny in the circumstances.

And so the group stages have passed without any major casualties. All of the European sides that should have advanced made it through in the end. The most likely MLS team to find themselves in the last 16 are here - and Lionel Messi is there. to boost the ratings.

And there's just enough representation elsewhere to make for an interesting knockout phase. Here's to an upset or two - and a South American run all the way (we can dream).