'Others closing in on Europe'

Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, Fifa's Chief of Global Football Development, says the Club World Cup has shown that the ability of teams in the final third remains the biggest gap between European clubs and those from the rest of the world.

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Wenger, speaking alongside members of Fifa’s Technical Study Group, who have been analysing games at the 32-club tournament, said however the distance between Uefa's top clubs and those from South America and elsewhere has been proven to be narrower than many imagined.

“Overall, what was a surprise to me, we as Europeans we come here and think, maybe we are a bit too strong for the rest of the world and it was a little bit an experience of humility,” he told reporters.

Wenger said South American teams had shown how competitive they can be and that South African club Mamelodi Sundowns, whose only defeat was a 4-3 loss to Borussia Dortmund, had also shown an impressive level of play.