MIAMI, FLORIDA – DECEMBER 05: A detailed view of The FIFA Club World Cup Trophy during the 2025 FIFA … [+]
The expanded FIFA 2025 Club World Cup is starting to take shape.
FIFA has spent the past week unveiling sponsors such as Bank of America, and has announced a $1 billion worldwide broadcasting deal with DAZN.
It has also made the group stage draw for the 32-team tournament.
Fans of Mexican side Pachuca can look forward to a clash with Real Madrid, and Morocco’s Wydad will be in action against Manchester City.
But with the finals of previous Club World Cup tournaments being dominated by representatives from Europe and South America, the groups with three teams from these two continents may well be the most unpredictable.
Each World Cup, one group is labeled the “Group of Death.” With national teams, it is easy to say at first glance which group appears easier or harder, and FIFA rankings can be used for a more objective approach.
For the Club World Cup, it is harder to create a ranking system as club sides often don’t play other teams from outside their confederation.
By combining two different ranking systems, one from Football Database which is based on the Elo ranking method, and one from Kick Algorithms which is based on exposure to the soccer market, long-term reputation and current performance, and then ranking each team from 1 to 32 based on these lists, we can get a picture of which group might be toughest.
Using this method, the “Group of Death” is Group B.
Group B features Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Brazilian side Botofogo, who won this year’s Copa Libertadores, and local Major League Soccer side Seattle Sounders.
While it might not feature the big names of some of the other groups, the battle between PSG, Atletico and Botofogo for a place in the next round could make the group one of the hardest to predict.
Group F is the easiest group based on this methodology.
It contains Brazilian side Fluminense and German side Borussia Dortmund, as well as South Korean side Ulsan HD and South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns.
The goalkeepers of those latter two sides could make things difficult for the favorites though, with Sundowns’ stopper Ronwen Williams the only goalkeeper outside Europe to be nominated for this year’s Yashin Trophy, and Ulsan’s Jo Hyeon-woo being the ‘keeper whose stellar performance helped knock Germany out of the 2018 World Cup.
If teams are ranked from 1 to 32 based on their values on Transfermarkt, then Group B is also the joint-most expensive group, along with Group H.
The opening Group H match could be one of the most star-studded ties of the group stage as Real Madrid face Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal.
The Saudi side’s star player Neymar could play his final matches in an Al Hilal shirt at the Club World Cup amid speculation over his future. It’s also not beyond imagination that Al Hilal adds more stars to a squad containing the likes of Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Ruben Neves and Joao Cancelo before the start of the tournament.
Group H is the second toughest group and whoever gets through to the knockouts could face Manchester City or Juventus in the Round of 16, possibly meaning an early clash between the two most recent UEFA Champions League winners.
An LED screen displays the final groups during the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup Draw at Telemundo … [+]
Group C is the third toughest, and one of just two groups with three sides from Europe or South America. New Zealand’s Auckland City may well be the weakest side at the 2025 Club World Cup, but the battle between Bayern Munich, Boca Juniors and Benfica could be one of the highlights of the group stage.
Hosts Inter Miami and superstar Lionel Messi will get the tournament underway. Miami’s Group A opponents, Egyptian side Al Ahly, might not be the most glamorous opponent for the opener though. Al Ahly has massive support in Egypt, but the $30 million that Transfermarkt values its squad at is less than the price of a single player at some of the European sides at the Club World Cup, showing the disparity between soccer leagues around the globe.
Inter Miami faces Al Ahly at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida on June 1st.
The FIFA Club World Cup final takes place on July 13th at the Metlife Stadium in New Jersey, the same venue that will host the World Cup final just over one year later.
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