Well, this tournament is just like a preseason matches
I assumed the same thing at the start of the competition, but after watching Real Madrid game against Al Hilal, I don't believe I can consider this competition a preseason match anymore. To be honest, I expected the match to be difficult, but no matter how difficult it turned out, Real Madrid should have been able to win the game no matter what the challenges they faced, but Al Hilal took it as if they were playing a final against Real Madrid, which they took so seriously because we have been underestimated them since they are from the Saudi League.
Cristiano Ronaldo statement that the Saudi League is far better compared to the US League is now very clear and understood. We saw how Al Hilal dominated Real Madrid like an opponent they usually meet in a season. For those who did not believe Ronaldo statement in 2024, I hope it is now clear and we can all see the opponent he is competing with in the Saudi League. This competition can only get more interesting in the next round.
I was surprised to see Al-Hilal performed so well against Real Madrid. Surely Real Madrid are not at their peaks but they are among the top teams in Europe. Certainly among the top 10 but they were stopped on 1-1 draw by Al-Hilal. Even though real were better at field but they failed to score. There are not many good teams in the group so Real Madrid should still comfortably qualify for the konockouts but its still a setback.
Now each of teams in the world cup has played at least a game and PSG, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Juventus and Manchester City are comfortable wins. Group A has equal points with all draws with zero goals.
It was a surprise for me too, that Al-Hilal game, since in my opinion the difference between the teams is quite big. This is already the second big surprise I've seen in this tournament, the other one was Fluminense vs Bayern... Today there's another game I'm curious to watch: Botafogo versus PSG. If Botafogo wins, it'll be the third surprise for me lol.
Tomorrow is the most important game of the season for the team I support: Flamengo.