"This Club World Cup is a dream come true for Brazil fans," says South American football expert Tim Vickery, speaking from Rio de Janeiro.

"Every bus stop, every water cooler... everyone is talking about it. It's full-on."

While Britain sleeps, with some games at the newly-expanded tournament in the United States kicking-off at 02:00 BST, Brazil is going wild for it.

And no wonder.

Millions of football fans are glued to television sets following the fortunes of Rio-based teams Botafogo, Flamengo and Fluminense - as well as Palmeiras, who are based in Sao Paulo.

And it is a case of so far, so good.

All four have progressed from their respective groups to the last-16 after some eye-catching results which have left fans asking if a team from Brazil can win the Club World Cup for the first time since 2012?

Botafogo have beaten newly-crowned champions of Europe Paris St-Germain, Flamengo turned a 1-0 deficit into a 3-1 victory over Chelsea, while Fluminense and Palmeiras have held Borussia Dortmund and Porto respectively.

The United States is hosting most of the games at the 2026 World Cup next summer. Canada and Mexico are also co-hosts.

If a team from Brazil wins the Club World Cup, what will that say about the chances of the Brazil national team winning the World Cup for a sixth time?

"I didn't expect that, most people in Brazil didn't expect that," Brazilian sports journalist Renata Mendonca, speaking to BBC World Service Sport, says about all four Brazilian teams advancing.

"The way they want to show the world... the Brazilian teams are good enough and could be at the top of the world.

"This motivates them a lot." (BBC Sports)

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