Garish Ronaldo statues, culture clashes, puzzling dance cams and rumbling shopping malls: How Palmeiras, Porto brought spice and flavor of Club World Cup to New York

The four Palmeiras fans on the train were feeling pretty optimistic about their chances. The Brazilian side are in what seems to be a relatively kind group for a team that can kindly be considered outsiders. They would seem to be favorites against both Egyptian giants Al Ahly and MLS representative Inter Miami.

Before the game, they insisted that they have what it takes to beat Porto.

"The group isn't so bad," one Palmerias fan who had traveled from Brazil for the tournament insisted.

And there certainly seemed to be a widespread belief that such a result could happen - at least prior to kick off. A Porto fan spokesperson told GOAL, word on the street was that Palmeiras fans would outnumber Porto supporters, 70-30 percentage-wise. A walk around the stadium and scope of public transport on the train over suggested that it was more like 99-1.

Still, what few Porto fans showed up seemed to be making the most of it. Their attendance was more sparse, but perhaps more familial. There were barbecues and beers and soccer balls, kids kicking with dads, while moms watched from lawn chairs.

Porto have been poor of late domestically, and went trophy-less last season. They have not won the Portuguese top flight - a league they are expected to dominate - since 2022. But the team have made it clear they want to amend that. Midfielder Stephen Eustaquio, who is skipping at least the start of Canada's Gold Cup campaign for the tournament, emphasized that.

"We want to play good football," he told the FIFA website. "We want to show the fans that we're growing and that we're playing well, but at the same time, the W is very, very important. And I think for a tournament like this, if you start winning, you get yourself in a good spot in the group, you get your confidence high as well, and it's just massively important."

Fans certainly seemed to believe, with some coming from Portugal, as well as Belgium and Canada, to offer support.

But the best pre-match scenes weren't found in the parking lot, on light-rail cars or even in the stadium. Part of that is on FIFA, who have inexplicably banned tailgating at many of the CWC games in the U.S. this summer - removing a crucial hallmark of South American football culture.

Instead, Palmeiras fans made the lengthy trek through an echoey tunnel just outside the stadium, stretching their legs up a slight incline from the concrete of the parking lot to the shiny, manufactured interior of the American Dream Mall. Two hours before kickoff, there were a few green shirts here and there - mostly because some had to cut through the mall due to the nightmarish parking situation at the stadium.

But crowds built steadily. By 4:30 p.m., 90 minutes before kickoff, it was a flood of green, with the delightful cacophony of voices from all over the world mingling. Then, suddenly, music. A man took a temporary stage wearing a mask, and waved a Palmeiras flag in the air. With that, the manufactured, shiny building erupted. Hands in the air, fans of all ages shouting.

A few baffled parents, there, presumably, to take kids on a large indoor rollercoaster, sprinted out of the place. What remained was otherwise a party scene, fans belting every word of every song, the floor rumbling under the weight of Palmeiras anticipation. There was no grilled meat or beer to be found - yet - but the Brazilian contingent had turned a hub of American commercialism into their own kind of Churrasco.

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Whistles erupted from the Palmeiras end as the Porto goalkeepers strolled out to warm up. The Brazilian fan section looked as compelling as it possibly could for a club that usually plays its home football 4,778 miles away. They sang their songs and waved their flags, a quarter of the lower concourse of MetLife - a surprisingly pleasant venue for a soccer match - a compelling mixture of green and white, with banners adorning the seats closest to the pitch.

There are some strange similarities between this venue and Allianz Parque. They were built around the same time, both refurbished versions of iconic venues. And the Palmeiras fans treated this place as if it were their own, screaming, chanting and whistling at all of the right times, berating the referee when calls went against them and cheering in approval when winger Joaquin Piquerez made a Porto defender look silly early on.

They had taken over Times Square by the thousands Saturday night. And they attacked this occasion with similar zeal.

"It was like playing at home," head coach Abel Ferreira said.

But the Porto contingent did their bit too, a thin strip of blue and white bumping from the get-go. Porto have tried to revive their American presence after a fallow period, Paul Silva, a member of Porto New Jersey, told GOAL.

It has been challenging, given the results on the pitch. They are the third-best team in Portugal at the moment, which doesn't leave much room for excitement. Their numbers might not have been massive but the enthusiasm couldn't be knocked.

The CWC opener, held Saturday night, was a scoreless draw that simmered throughout but never quite took off. FIFA had made a real show of the whole thing, with Lionel Messi and Inter Miami hosting Al Ahly, but the spectacle on the pitch never quite matched the enthusiasm of federation president Gianni Infantino in the weeks leading up to the tournament.

That was followed by two blowouts, Bayern Munich and PSG rolling past Auckland City and Atletico Madrid by a combined score of 14-0 on Sunday.

The early days of this tournament needed a game, a back-and-forth encounter to capture the imagination - and perhaps show that this could someday, somehow become something teams want to win. Palmeiras were certainly up for it. The South American sides are perhaps the most compelling storyline to be found here, their undoubted urge to prove they can cut it with European talent a driving factor.

And they poked and prodded for most of the first half. Estevao, due to sign for Chelsea after the tournament, was the main attraction and went on some wonderful weaving runs between the lines. But they created from all over the pitch. A fine double save from Porto's reserve goalkeeper Claudio Ramos kept them out on the stroke of half time.

Porto also offered some ideas. Striker Samu caused all sorts of problems, the powerful No. 9 pulling the Palmeiras defense this way and that. He is linked with a move to a bigger European club this summer, and it was clear to see why; he is bigger, faster and stronger than every defender that takes him on. But Palmeiras, too, held their own, with veteran goalkeeper Weverton providing important saves off set pieces to keep the game level at the break.

"What wins matches is goals, but we didn't get scored on either," Estevao said after the game.

The game became less of a spectacle in the latter stages as both teams rotated. Cheers turned to groans. Palmeiras skewed a couple of good chances, and their presence waned after Estevao was removed on 65 minutes.

"We came here to show that we are Palmerias. We have excellent players, we know what we are capable of," Estevao said. "We were able to impose our level of play, we were really offensive. But we have to improve next time."

Porto fans fell relatively quiet as the apathy of a scoreless draw emerged. They stayed until the end, but flooded out in their thousands as the final whistle blew.

There were some weird moments throughout. A booming, American voice counted down to kick off. The players formed a puzzling guard of honor for the referees as they marched onto the field. A dance cam at halftime panned to a few baffled Palmeiras fans who weren't quite sure what to do.

There also remains the harsh reality that, despite the large Portuguese and Brazilian populations of the area, this stadium is meant to seat 90,000.

An attendance of 46,275 is agreeable, but was far from capacity. Before the game, you could still buy a ticket for $45. Play this fixture at nearby Sports Illustrated Stadium, home of New York Red Bulls, with a capacity of 25,000, and it might have been a cauldron of noise.

"The issue is that the stadium is absolutely huge - 46,000 people in a stadium is fantastic. Maybe they could have closed the upper ring," Ferreira said.

For all of the clashes and inconsistencies, though, this was mostly a fine event. The diehard fans did their part. The neutrals - there were plenty of them here in USMNT, Inter Miami, and Liverpool shirts - showed face. The result probably suits both sides, too.

They know that they will be able to beat the other two teams in the group. Six points is typically enough to get through to the knockouts, and both sides will, in all likelihood, reach that tally without needing anything from this one. FIFA, no doubt, will have wanted more scoring on the pitch. There still hasn't been a single goal scored in Group A.

The games haven't quite been high quality, electric affairs, at least not yet. But the occasion: culture clashes, hideous statues, shopping malls and all, proved that this can still be a hub for soccer appreciation.

Now it's just dependent on results.

"We think we can do fine in the first three group games," one Palmeiras fan said. "After that, God decides."