Explaining the group-stage tiebreakers at the Club World Cup
The group stage of the 2025 Club World Cup is nearing its conclusion, with the second round of fixtures ending with Manchester City vs Al Ain on Sunday, June 22.
After the third and final round finishes on Thursday, June 26, the top two teams in each of the eight groups will progress to the knockout stage, which begins with the round of 16.
If two or more teams in the same group end on the same points, however, a range of tiebreakers will be used to decide which will finish higher — different to the methods FIFA has previously used at World Cups.
At the men's and women's World Cups, goal difference (the difference between the number of goals scored and conceded) from all group matches is used to separate teams tied on points.
At the Club World Cup, though, the first tiebreaker is teams' head-to-head records. If only two teams in a group are level on points, the side that won their match finishes higher. If their head-to-head result was a draw, they cannot be separated by goal difference or goals scored in their head-to-head, so the decision would go straight to the group-wide metrics — first, overall goal difference, followed by overall goals scored. If both of those are equal, the teams' disciplinary record is the final tiebreaker, with the last resort being drawing lots.
If two or more teams are level on points, their position in the group is first determined by results in the matches between the sides that are level. If those are equal, goal difference from the matches between them is the next metric, followed by goals scored in the matches between them.
Follow the Club World Cup on The Athletic this summer…
FIFA uses 'team conduct scores' to decide disciplinary records. In each game, a yellow card is minus one point, two yellow cards to the same person is minus three, a straight red card is minus four.
These apply to team staff as well as players.
The final round of group stage fixtures runs from Monday, June 23 to Thursday, June 26, finishing with Red Bull Salzburg vs Real Madrid and Al Hilal vs Pachuca at 9pm ET (2am BST on Friday).
(Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)
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