Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella says the heat in the United States at the Club World Cup, and the time off following the end of the domestic season, has made it more difficult for European teams.
South American teams went undefeated in their first nine matches in the newly expanded competition - a run that included Brazilian club Flamengo beating Chelsea 3-1 in Philadelphia.
"Flamengo also have a good team, they are first in the league with a lot of international players and are in the middle of their season and physically did better than us in this moment," said Cucurella.