Club World Cup an eye opener - Vincent Kompany

It may still be that a team from that part of the world clinches the title of the major tournament currently underway in the USA, but the former Manchester City captain believes the gap is closing if the group stage fixtures are anything to go by.

Bayern face Brazilian outfit Flamengo on Sunday night at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami to fight for a quarterfinal spot.

Kompany is wary of the South Americans, having seen Boca Juniors run them close in a 2-1 victory at the same venue last week.

"At the start of the season, at a club like this, you have the luxury to rank the difficulty level of all the competitions. Once you play in it, they all become important.

"The level of this tournament is very high, and we are privileged to play against teams we don't usually come up against. This tournament proves that football is indeed a global game," said Kompany. 

READ: Paulinho's extra-time strike sends Palmeiras past Botafogo in Club World Cup thriller

Bayern mentor credited his counterpart Filipe Luis for an attractive brand of football that could pose a threat if his charges didn’t learn any lessons from previous games in the competition.

Kompany was informed that Luis also spoke highly of his work since becoming a coach at Burnley and now Bayern.

He returned the compliment.

"Filipe Luis has very clear ideas, and you can see that by watching how Flamengo play. The players believe in his ideas, and they've had great results to boost their confidence."

The 39-year-old coach added that the pressure is on Flamengo to win, just as it is on Bayern Munich to progress to the last eight.