Club World Cup 2025: 5 non-European teams that could upset giants
There are two billion-dollar questions looming over the Club World Cup, and one — will the European teams care? — seems to have an affirmative answer. They've been offered gobs of prize money, so they'll bring their A-list stars, and the tournament's other existential question will come into focus: Can the non-European teams hang with them?
It's a billion-dollar question because it cuts to the core of this billion-dollar tournament. If the champions of Asia, Africa and the Americas can compete with Real Madrid and Chelsea, then the Club World Cup is unique; it's a competition worth building; it could be compelling for decades to come.
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But if they can't, it's just a watered-down wannabe Champions League. If the latter stages are an all-Euro affair, it serves no distinct soccer purpose.
The Club World Cup, therefore, depends on non-European contenders. Here are five that could rise to the occasion and surprise their wealthier* European counterparts.
Flamengo, top of the Brasileirāo and surging in the Libertadores, arrive at the Club World Cup as Brazil's best hope. (Photo by Mauro Pimentel/AFP)
(MAURO PIMENTEL via Getty Images)
1. Flamengo (Brazil)
The richest club and current leader of soccer's strongest non-European league, the Brasileiro, is an obvious choice to lead this list.
After a shaky start to the 2025 Copa Libertadores, the Rubro-Negro (Scarlet and Black) are flying. They've scored 12 goals in their last four games, which included a 2-0 win at Palmeiras. They have perhaps the deepest squad in South America, chock-full of experienced defenders, accomplished midfielders and dynamic attackers. Giorgian de Arrascaeta, the Uruguayan playmaker who has lit up Brazil's Série A for over a decade, is playing some of the best soccer of his career, with 13 goal contributions in just nine league appearances.
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All of which is to say that Flamengo can absolutely trouble Chelsea in Group D, and others in the knockout stages.
2. Palmeiras (Brazil)
In a tournament of change, amid a field of teams rocked by recent instability, Palmeiras stands out for its consistency. Under the guidance of Portuguese coach Abel Ferreira since 2020, O Verdão (The Big Green) have won two Copa Libertadores titles and back-to-back Brasileiros; they've accumulated the league's best Expected Goal differential (xGD) in each of the last three seasons.
As with all South American clubs that produce excellent players, they've had to sell — Endrick to Real Madrid, Vitor Reis to Manchester City, Danilo to Nottingham Forest and so on. But they've restocked their cupboard with talent from within Brazil, across the Americas and even from Europe. Although they haven't quite hit their stride yet in 2025, all the pieces are in place to win Group A and make a Club World Cup run.
Aleksandar Mitrović leads a star-studded Al Hilal squad into the Club World Cup amid sky-high spending, title pressure and a last-minute managerial shakeup. (REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed)
(REUTERS / Reuters)
3. Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia)
*Remember that asterisk above, next to 'wealthier'? Yeah, that doesn't apply in the case of Al Hilal, which is backed by the Saudi Public Investment Fund. The club has spent over $500 million the past two years, and built a lineup that could feature goalkeeper Yassine Bounou (Morocco, formerly Sevilla); defenders Kalidou Koulibaly (Senegal, formerly Napoli and Chelsea), João Cancelo (Portugal, formerly Manchester City) and Renan Lodi (Brazil, formerly Atlético Madrid); midfielders Rúben Neves (Portugal, formerly Wolves) and Sergej Milinković-Savić (Serbia, formerly Lazio); and forwards Malcom (Brazil, formerly Bordeaux, Barcelona and Zenit) and Aleksandar Mitrović (Serbia, formerly Fulham).
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How have they all jelled together as a team? Reasonably well, especially in their unbeaten 2023-24 season. But they stumbled occasionally in 2024-25, relinquished the Saudi title to Al Ittihad, and then sacked their manager, Jorge Jesus. To replace him, the PIF reportedly threw over $29 million per year at Inter Milan's Simone Inzaghi, who, a few days after a Champions League final stomping, and less than two weeks before the Club World Cup, will join up with the squad. Can he make his mark, or at least stabilize the club, in that brutally short window?
That's the boom-or-bust question clouding Al Hilal's hopes.
4. Al Ahly (Egypt)
Africa's most dominant modern club offers quite a contrast to Asia's (Al Hilal; see above). It does not have names that European soccer aficionados will recognize, nor boatloads of cash. But it does have an impressive track record that, crucially, extends beyond the CAF Champions League.
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By virtue of its four continental titles in five years, Al Ahly repeatedly qualified for the former Club World Cup — the eight-team annual version now called the FIFA Intercontinental Cup — and here are its results:
2020: Beat Al-Duhail 1-0, lost to Bayern Munich 2-0, beat Palmeiras on penalties for third place
2021: Beat Monterrey 1-0, lost to Palmeiras 2-0, beat Al Hilal 4-0 for third place
2022: Beat Auckland City 3-0, beat Seattle Sounders 1-0, lost to Real Madrid 4-1
2023: Beat Al Ittihad 3-1, lost to Fluminense 2-0, beat Urawa Reds 4-2 for third place
2024: Beat Al Ain 3-0, lost to Pachuca on penalties
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What all of that suggests is that, while Al Ahly probably can't come close to winning this new version of the Club World Cup, it can frustrate teams — including all three of its Group A opponents, Palmerias, Porto and Inter Miami. It kept clean sheets in eight of those 14 games above. It has an extensive recent history of defensive sturdiness.
There is one notable caveat: Al Ahly appointed a new head coach, Jose Riveiro, less than two weeks ago. But its 2020-24 run spanned multiple coaches. Its strength isn't rooted in one man's leadership; it is, at this point, institutional.
5. Inter Miami (United States)
Inter Miami makes this list because it has Lionel Messi. Messi can still do special things in group or knockout games, as he showed at his last FIFA tournament.
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But there are all sorts of reasons that Inter Miami isn't equipped to excel at this tournament. Its roster, like most in MLS, is top-heavy. Its defensive, midfield and forward lines are often detached. Its back line is leaky.
So, it ranks right alongside Al Hilal in the 'high ceiling, low floor' category.
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Associated Press
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- Associated Press
Real Madrid beats Pachuca 3-1 in Club World Cup while playing most of the match with 10 men
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Yahoo
36 minutes ago
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Real Madrid beats Pachuca 3-1 in Club World Cup while playing most of the match with 10 men
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New York Times
an hour ago
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Real Madrid bounced back from an early Raúl Asencio red card to beat Pachuca 3-1 in Charlotte and give Xabi Alonso his first win as head coach. After looking shaky early on, Asencio was sent off for bringing down Salomon Rondon just outside the penalty box, with the former Newcastle United forward through on goal. Advertisement It was an awful start with just seven minutes gone. But the Spaniards managed to get a foothold in the game before a wonderful move down the left flank saw Jude Bellingham accelerate on to the ball before striking into the bottom corner after 35 minutes. Arda Guler then doubled the advantage two minutes before half-time with a lovely cross from Trent Alexander-Arnold and lay-off from Gonzalo Garcia. Federico Valverde made the game safe after another clinical move from Madrid before Elias Montiel pulled back a goal for Pachuca. The win puts Real Madrid top of Group H, with Pachuca out of the competition and Red Bull Salzburg facing Al Hilal later. Here, our writers break down the key talking points from the game… Real Madrid's first game, a 1-1 draw against Al-Hilal, started with a scare, when they needed a save from Thibaut Courtois in the second minute. Against Pachuca, it was worse. Asencio was squatting, dejected, after realising his mistake for the red card, getting the wrong side of Rondon and bringing him down clumsily. It was reminiscent of the first match, when he gave away the penalty from which Al Hilal equalised. He was then substituted at half-time, with Alonso explaining in a press conference that he had been on antibiotics in the build-up. 'Two games and twice a little bit the same mistake,' Courtois told 'DAZN' at half-time today. 'We have to be a little bit smarter and not make that mistake, but he knows that and it's no problem.' The gestures of resignation multiplied among the Real Madrid players just after the error in the Bank of America stadium — especially with the temperature at 92°F. The result may have helped Asencio's error go under the radar a bit more, but the toll caused more fatigue on the squad. It remains to be seen how this bad start to the tournament affects Asencio, who had a very exciting breakthrough this season — and has recently renewed his deal until 2031. Advertisement Antonio Rüdiger returned to play after his knee injury, with 13 minutes against Pachuca. While it may be too early to expect him to start against Salzburg in the third group match, his recovery is no help to Asencio's chances. Logic dictates that, as was the case in Charlotte, Alonso's solution in Philadelphia will be to put Tchouameni alongside Huijsen. Mario Cortegana Santos Real Madrid's 10 men were struggling to get into the game, with their patched-up defence looking shaky every time Pachuca attacked. They badly needed one of their Galacticos to take control, and Bellingham did just that. The Englishman had been one of the Madrid stars being overrun by their opponents, and unable to get into the game during the first half hour. But then, after being first involved in the build-up deep in his own half, he sprinted up the pitch and took charge of the attack, striding onto a pass from Gonzalo, which was probably meant for Vinicius. 😊 FOOTBALL FRIENDS 😊 — Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) June 22, 2025 That took him into the penalty area, beyond the defence, and he slammed in a low finish from 15 yards. Suddenly, Madrid had the lead and a foothold, while confidence drained from Pachuca players who found themselves behind despite having dominated. Alonso has said he would like to make Bellingham into a more all-round midfielder, capable of constructing passing moves from deep. That is part of Alonso's medium-term plan to turn the side into a modern, proactive, cohesive team on and off the ball. All that will take time to achieve. While that process takes place, moments of world-class ability to make marks on games are incredibly valuable, for both the team and the coach. Over the medium term, Alonso's challenge is to evolve Bellingham's style of play, to make him more of a team player, without affecting his ability for huge game-changing moments. For now, he'll just have to take the individual genius. Dermot Corrigan Real Madrid have been (and, most likely, always will be) a winning machine, but the manner in which they achieve their glory continues to be something of a mystery for such an elite side. At the start of their clash with Pachuca on Sunday afternoon, their high defensive line was a notable feature — something Alonso has been working on with his team in the United States. But a high line without sufficient pressure from your midfielders or attackers leaves your defenders exposed, as was the case for the sequence leading up to Asencio's dismissal. 😎 FEDE IN DA HOUSE 😎 — Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) June 22, 2025 And yet, in the blink of an eye, Madrid put together a pair of excellent attacking sequences to cut through Pachuca's defence and take a 2-0 lead into half-time. Some intelligent flicks, perfectly-weighted passes, and sharp finishes showed isolated moments of quality that was representative of their previous era under Carlo Ancelotti. Advertisement Alonso's task will be to make Madrid into a more cohesive team than the Ancelotti side, which leaned more on a collection of individuals. Mark Carey With Thibaut Courtois facing eleven shots on target — the third-most in the tournament so far — you might glance at the numbers and think Madrid were under the cosh with much of the game spent with a man down. However, they managed the clash well with their mix of individual quality and intelligent management. Each of their three goals were well-worked in their own way, pulling Pachuca's shape apart with such ease that you would be forgiven for thinking Alonso's side were the one with the player advantage. When the game started to get stretched in the second half and Madrid were losing control of possession, Alonso's introduction of experienced heads Luka Modric and Dani Ceballos was the perfect antidote to Pachuca's momentum, with the pair dictating longer sequences on the ball as Madrid regained a foothold. This was not a perfect performance from Alonso's side, but they still remain their unpredictable, adaptable selves. Step off them and they can knock it around you at will, but leave any space for their attackers to break forward at speed and they can make teams pay in transitional moments. All things considered, a job well done in the Bank of America Stadium. Mark Carey Thursday, June 26: Red Bull Salzburg, Club World Cup group stage (Philadelphia), 9pm ET, 2am (Friday) UK Thursday, June 26: Al Hilal, Club World Cup group stage (Nashville), 9pm ET, 2am (Friday) UK
