With the opening phase of the new-look tournament now complete, it's time to reflect on who's surpassed expectations and who's fallen woefully short

No-one really knew what to expect from the revamped Club World Cup, as the planet's elite flew out to the United States for the expanded summer tournament. But after a rip-roaring group stage that has thrown up no shortage of drama, suffice to say we are locked in.

We've seen upsets, truly remarkable scorelines, big hitters sent packing and even some Lionel Messi heroics under the baking sun – pretty much everything you look for from a major tournament in the modern era.

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But who have been the success stories and surprise packages, who's surpassed expectations and who has fallen woefully short? Here are GOAL's winners and losers from the Club World Cup group stage…

GettyWINNER: Brazilian clubs

Not only have Brazil's representatives brought the vibes to their matches that many others have dearly lacked, with their loud, colourful and fiercely passionate supporters, but their clubs have shown up on the pitch in a big way, too, proving to be the overall surprise package of he tournament so far.

Palmeiras, Flamengo, Fluminense AND Botafogo have ALL progressed to the last 16 largely against the odds, with the latter producing the result of the tournament so far with a stunning 1-0 upset of European champions Paris Saint-Germain that made everyone sit up and take notice. The Brasileirao clubs are the story of the group stage.

AdvertisementAFPLOSER: Auckland City

It was always going to be tough going for part-timers Auckland City, who found themselves in the same group as two storied European clubs as well as Argentine giants Boca Juniors, but they were probably hoping for better than conceding 16 goals in the space of two games.

The New Zealanders were walloped 10-0 by Bavarian giants Bayern Munich before a less-heavy-but-still-ugly 6-0 thrashing by Benfica ended their extremely slim hopes of progressing. They did, however, bow out with a creditable 1-1 draw with Boca despite having just 26% of possession.

GettyWINNER: Estevao

All eyes have been on 18-year-old Estevao Willian in Palmeiras' games so far as the prodigy prepares to complete his long-awaited £56 million ($71m) switch to Chelsea post-tournament. So far, the wonderkid hasn't disappointed.

Without setting the world alight, the teenager claimed back-to-back player of the match awards against Porto and Al Ahly and delivered a third consecutive impressive performance against Inter Miami when facing one of his idols in Messi. The scary thing is there is clearly so much more to come; Chelsea must harness that potential.

AFPLOSER: Atletico Madrid

Victims of the success of the Brazilian clubs, Spanish giants Atletico Madrid have crashed out of a group containing PSG, Botafogo and Seattle Sounders – mainly a result of a heavy opening defeat to the Champions League winners.

That 4-0 thumping and Botafogo's shock win over PSG meant Atleti had to beat the Brazilian side by a margin of at least three goals in their final game to progress to the last 16, but they could only manage a late 1-0 victory as they struggled to break down a staunch defence.