"Brazilian clubs have shown they can compete with Europe's big clubs"

Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti said the FIFA Club World Cup showed that Brazilian clubs"can compete with the best European teams" and gave the tournament as a fair winner to England's Chelsea.

"Fluminense had a great campaign reaching the semi-finals and Botafogo beat PSG, but Palmeiras and Flamengo also showed that they can compete with the best European teams," the Italian coach said in statements released by the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF).

In the individual section, the former Real Madrid coach highlighted Palmeiras winger Estevao, a future Chelsea player, as well as striker Joao Pedro and midfielder Andrey Santos, both in the ranks of the Blues.

He said Chelsea deserved the world title for the "consistency" they showed throughout the competition, which ended with the English side winning the final 3-0 over top favourites Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). "Chelsea showcased young players of great quality such as Palmer and Joao Pedro," he added.

'Carletto' also welcomed the return from injury of defender Eder Militao, who returned to the pitch for Real Madrid, eliminated in the semi-finals by PSG, after a long spell out injured.

"Militao will be important for the national team next year," said the Reggiolo coach, who travelled to the United States to watch the semi-finals and final of the Club World Cup.

Ancelotti explained that the tournament was "strongly" influenced by the "extremely hot" weather in the United States, which is why, in his opinion, "there were no matches of great physical intensity".

"The matches were strongly influenced by the pace of play, which was not very intense. Good defensive organisation prevailed over the individual quality of the players," he said.