2025 Club World Cup Preview (1): Who is most likely to win the top two in the group in A-D?

At 8 a.m. on June 15, FIFA's newly restructured Club World Cup kicked off at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, USA. In this competition, with as many as 32 teams and a one-month schedule, European traditional veteran teams must be the focus of attention for fans around the world. However, competition-based games often lead to unpopularity. In today's article, I will briefly analyze the basic situation of each team among these 8 groups and who has the strongest potential in this group.

Group A: Palmeiras (Brazil), Porto (Portugal), Jeddah Nationals (Egypt), Miami International (USA). From the first impression of fans, Porto should be the strongest. But in fact, Palmeiras from Brazil has a stronger invisible combat power. This Brazilian team is the champion of the 2021 South American Liberators Cup, and they also qualified for the 2025 Club World Cup through this championship. In the Brazilian League, they won the championship for two consecutive years in 2022 and 2023. There is an 18-year-old young striker Estewan in this team who performed very well in the Brazilian League. In 2024, Chelsea spent 60 million to buy him into the team. He will officially land in the Premier League this summer window.

Porto, a team from the Portuguese Super League, performed poorly last season. He did not reach the finals in any domestic competition, lagging Portugal Sports as much as 11 points in the league, and also lost to Roma in the Europa League. Although UEFA has ranked relatively high in the overall ranking in the past four seasons and has been qualified for the competition, the current team needs to show their level in the Club World Cup.

Another Jeddah national from Africa in this group cannot be underestimated. This team, which has won 12 times in the African Champions League, has won third place three times in the four Club World Cup competitions it has participated in in the past decade. This team's experience in participating in the competition and its attack power in the midfield are guaranteed.

Although he has home advantage and has the team-up of former world footballer Messi, Miami International looks like a boy with points. Although Suarez, Busquets and Alba are experienced and have excellent skills at feet, they are all too old. Especially the team's defensive level is in the middle and lower reaches of the MFA League. If you want to score points in three group matches, you will not do anything right in the defense.

Group B: Paris Saint-Germain (France), Atletico Madrid (Spain), Botafogo (Brazil), Seattle Gulfman (USA). Among these four teams, Paris Saint-Germain has the strongest fighting power, and they are also the most powerful contenders for this year's Club World Cup championship. In the just-concluded Champions League final, the striker led by Inter Milan 5-0, Dembele and Duer, coupled with the impact of Kvaratschlia, the lethality is quite terrifying. Both full-backs Nuno Mendes and Hakimi have strong assist abilities, especially Mendes, who performed well in the just-concluded UEFA semi-finals and finals, helping the Portuguese national team win the championship. His ability in defense and talent in offense make people look forward to whether this year's Club World Cup can become his third big stage to shine in the world this year. Atletico Madrid maintained a simultaneous trend in La Liga with Barcelona and Real Madrid in the initial stage of last season, but the collapse in the final stage still feels a bit of a pity. Simeone's tactical reconstruction with Alvarez has begun to show some power. He and Throot helped the team score 37 league goals last season.

Botafogo of Brazil won the South American Liberators Cup in 2024, but the team is currently losing personnel and the players are injured. It is very difficult to get a qualifying place in this group. Another American team, Seattle Gulf, is more difficult than Miami International may face. The team won seven of the first 18 games in the Western Conference of the American League, ranking 6th. Having home advantage may be just to experience the atmosphere of the Club World Cup.

Group C: Bayern Munich (Germany), Auckland City (New Zealand), Boca Youth (Argentina), Benfica (Portugal). In this group, Bayern Munich is the strongest team. Although they broke the monopoly by the team led by Xavi Alonso in the 23-24 season and won the championship in a record-breaking manner, under the leadership of Kompany last season, this team that emphasizes ball control has resumed its dominance in the Bundesliga.

The remaining two teams, Boca Youth and Benfica, are about to fight for the second place in the group. Boca Youth, a once very successful team, has recently encountered trouble, and after the head coach was dismissed in April, casting a shadow on the Club World Cup competition. Benfica is not in good condition at present, losing to Portuguese Sports in the league championship and the Portuguese Cup championship.

The last team, Oakland City, is a team composed of almost all amateur players.

Group D: Flamengo (Brazil), Tunisia Hope (Tunisia), Chelsea (UK), Los Angeles (USA). Among these four teams, Chelsea's current team that conquers the world with a young lineup is undergoing wonderful changes under the leadership of Maresca. Especially since returning to the top four in the league standings in the last round of last season to win a Champions League place, the confidence in this team is a great improvement.

Flamenco is also in good shape in the Brazil League, and this team is likely to join hands with Chelsea to enter the knockout round. The other two teams, Tunisia hope and Los Angeles, are expected to find it difficult to get a seat that appears.

In tomorrow's article, I will continue to analyze the basic situation of the remaining 4 groups. Follow me to learn more about football match analysis content.