In all honesty I’m not going to even attempt the permutations for the rest of the groups after that … that’s a headache for tomorrow’s team!

What I will tell you though is how the rest of the week shapes up:

Tuesday 24 June

Auckland City v Boca Juniors – 20:00 BST (Group C)

Benfica v Bayern Munich – 20:00 BST (Group C)

Inter Miami v Palmeiras – 02:00 BST (Group A)

Porto v Al Ahly – 02:00 BST (Group A)

Wednesday 25 June

Borussia Dortmund v Ulsan HD – 20:00 BST (Group F)

Mamelodi Sundowns v Fluminense – 20:00 BST (Group F)

ES Tunis v Chelsea – 02:00 BST (Group D)

Los Angeles v Flamengo- 02:00 BST (Group D)

Thursday 26 June

Juventus v Manchester City – 20:00 BST (Group G)

Wydad Casablanca v Al Ain – 20:00 BST (Group G)

Inter Milan v River Plate – 02:00 BST (Group E)

Urawa Reds v Monterrey – 02:00 BST (Group E)

Friday 27 June

Al Hilal v Pachuca – 02:00 BST (Group H)

Red Bull Salzburg v Real Madrid – 02:00 BST (Group H)

Knockout football begins on Saturday 28 June, with the final taking place on Sunday 13 July.

The Club World Cup continues tonight as we head into the final group games.

In Group B, Atletico Madrid play Botofogo and Seattle Sounders face Paris Saint-Germain at 20:00 BST.

In what may come as a surprise, it is all still to play for in Group B because PSG lost to Botofogo who are currently top the group with two wins in two.

PSG are, though, still in a very strong position to qualify for the last 16 because they have a stronger goal difference than Atletico Madrid who sit third on an equal points tally of three.

Botafogo will also qualify if they avoid defeat against Atletico Madrid by a margin of three goals or more or if PSG fail to beat Seattle Sounders.

Furthermore, anything but defeat for Botafogo against the Spanish giants would result in them winning the group.

In terms of Atletico Madrid, if they lose they are knocked out of the competition. If they win or draw then they are relying on scoring a number of goals or PSG losing.

The CWC has been more competitive than I expected. With the exception of Auckland and Al Ain, every team has been able to hold their own. Every tournament has a few underdogs – Bayern won 9-2 in the Champions League this season.

“While we disagree with the tenor and content of your letter, we have nonetheless taken note of your concerns and are more than happy to invite you to discuss the matter further at a time convenient to you,” Fifa added.

Fifpro, the worldwide representative organisation of footballers, were not impressed with the idea of the Club World Cup when it was announced last year.

“The decision to schedule the FIFA Club World Cup between June 15 and July 13 without implementing further player workload safeguards demonstrates a lack of consideration for the mental and physical health of participating players, as well as a disregard for their personal and family lives.

“The extreme mental and physical pressures at the pinnacle of the game is the principal concern of players with multiple club and national team competitions, leading to exhaustion, physical injuries, mental health issues, diminished performance, and risks to career longevity.”

We have heard managers and players from Europe’s top teams voicing their concerns and frustrations over the fixture schedule for what seems like years now.

And it is no surprise, as those that play for club and country have endured jam-packed season’s with very little respite since the 2022 winter World Cup.

League campaign, cup competitions, international friendlies and qualifiers, Euro 2024 and the Nations League are just those that immediately spring to my mind.

So as the expectation on players’ to perform consistently at a high level continues, so does the risk of burn-out, fatigue and injuries.

That is one of the issues for this Club World Cup. The European teams want to take it seriously because of the huge prize money at stake, but they are also having to rotate players after long domestic seasons.

It is different for the teams from the United States, South America and Oceania, who have hit pause on their regular seasons and will return to their respective leagues after the competition.

The teams playing in the Club World Cup don’t even have to win or draw a game to be financially better off.

As I just mentioned, there is a participation fee which basically means they get paid for just showing up.

We know that the European teams are awarded the most, but the South American sides will receive just over £11m, while clubs from North America, Central America, Asia, Africa and the Caribbean will each take home £7m.

And even Auckland City, from New Zealand in Oceania, will receive £2.6m for attending.

There has been a lot of talk about what impact this could have on the Premier League if Manchester City or Chelsea lift the trophy because inevitably the more you earn the more you can spend.

But what about the money going to teams from the ‘smaller’ nations/leagues where their money is likely to help them dominate when they return home?

How can other teams in their domestic leagues realistically compete to make up that £2.5m-£11m difference?