The Club World Cup group stage is over and Porto, Atletico Madrid, Boca Juniors, River Plate and LAFC are among the clubs who have been sent packing from the United States early.
Now we’re at the knockout stages. As things seriously ramp up, we thought this would be the perfect opportunity to take a closer look at every team remaining in the competition and assess their chances of getting their hands on the trophy.
Here’s the full breakdown of our Club World Cup rankings ahead of the Round of 16.
16. Al-Hilal
Someone had to finish bottom of this thing.
There were some outrageous mismatches in the group stages but we’ve arrived at the knockout stages with the wheat separated from the chaff and no obvious whipping boys remain.
Al-Hilal boast the most expensively assembled squad in Asian football history. Genuine quality players including Kalidou Koulibaly, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Ruben Neves.
They went unbeaten in the group stages, held Real Madrid to a 1-1 draw, and have only conceded one goal to date.
The Saudi Pro League outfit might be rank outsiders but Pep Guardiola must take them seriously.
15. Fluminense
Brazilian clubs have been the story of the Club World Cup so far.
All four have shown themselves capable of competing with their European counterparts, making it through to the knockout stages.
There’s a decent chance a Brazilian club will go deep in the competition, maybe even win the thing, but we can’t see that club being Fluminense.
Inter next. Then probably Man City. Gulp.
14. Inter Miami
We’d have bumped Inter Miami up a place or two in this ranking had they managed to hold against Palmeiras, but letting a two-goal lead slip against the Brazilian outfit sees them pitted against PSG in the first knockout round. Ouch.
Having already made history by becoming the first MLS club to beat a European side in a competitive fixture, Inter Miami can already consider this tournament a relatively successful endeavour. Anything else from here would be a bonus.
Lionel Messi faces a potentially awkward reunion with PSG. They’ll do well to avoid a beatdown, but Luis Enrique will be wary of the threat the eight-time Ballon d’Or still poses after his masterclass display against Porto.
13. Monterrey
Thirty-nine-year-old Monterrey captain Sergio Ramos appears to be absolutely relishing reminding the wider footballing world of his existence.
Alongside a trademark thumping header against Inter, he’s been a rock at the back.
The Mexican outfit boast the joint-best defensive record with just one goal conceded from their three group-stage outings.
12. Juventus
The Old Lady looked as though they threw off the shackles of their miserably dull 2024-25 campaign by putting Al Ain (5-0) and Wydad (4-1) to the sword. Young Kenan Yildiz looked a potential Player of the Tournament in the making.
In hindsight, we might’ve been reading too much into the tournament’s most lopsided group. Juventus were brought back down to earth when thrashed 5-2 by Man City.
On that evidence, it’s difficult to envisage them putting up much of a fight against Real Madrid in the Round of 16.
11. Borussia Dortmund
Dortmund’s seven-goal thriller victory over Mamelodi Sundowns (a sleeper entry for game of the tournament?) stood in stark contrast to their altogether sleepier, low-scoring affairs against Ulsan and Fluminense.
It’ll be interesting to see which version of Dortmund emerges in the knockout stages.
Given their excellent form in the second half of the season under Niko Kovac, they’ll be firm favourites against Monterrey next time out.
Shocking the big dogs waiting down the line might be a stretch, though.
10. Inter
Perhaps Inter’s limp, lifeless showing in the recent Champions League final looms too large in the rearview mirror.
They did finish runners-up, after all, beating Barcelona to get there.
But that run felt like the end of a cycle and nothing we’ve seen in this tournament to date – despite a decent return of seven points from Monterrey, Urawa Reds and River Plate – has given much room for optimism.
Inter ought to have enough about them to make it past Fluminense in the next round, but it’s difficult to imagine them giving (probably) Man City a stern test in the quarters.
9. Benfica
It feels a tad harsh to place Benfica this low given they finished above Bayern and have a more favourable draw as a result.
We just remain a bit unconvinced by Benfica. It was only a second-string Bayern that they beat and being held to a draw by ten-man Boca Juniors rings alarm bells.
Still, with grizzled World Cup-winning veterans like Nicolas Otamendi and Angel Di Maria rolling back the years, they certainly have the potential to make it past Chelsea and beyond. We might soon be left eating our words.
8. Palmeiras
Two goals in the last 10 minutes against Inter Miami has changed the outlook entirely for Palmeiras.
They remain unbeaten and topping the group sees them avoid PSG and the further European heavyweights.
With one of the brightest young stars in the tournament, Chelsea-bound Willian Estevao, they have every reason to approach their all-Brazilian Round of 16 contest with confidence.
7. Flamengo
Flamengo’s 3-1 victory over Chelsea was arguably the result of the group stage, an outstanding performance that underlined Felipe Luis’ status as South America’s brightest young coach.
Unfortunately, their reward for topping the group is a clash against Bayern Munich and an almighty difficult route to the final from there. Tournament football can be so cruel.
6. Botafogo
The Copa Libertadores holders came into this tournament in distinctly iffy form; eighth in the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A and looking quite some way off Palmeiras and Flamengo.
But their defend-as-if-their-lives depended on it approach, mixed with the second coming of Didier Drogba up top in Igor Jesus, looks like they’ve cracked the perfect formula for a knockout tournament ‘dark horse’. They’ve already beaten the European champions – what more can we say?
Their Round of 16 clash with Palmeiras looks too close to call, but Botafogo have the recent edge against them; unbeaten in their last five competitive meetings.
5. Bayern Munich
It’s been a strange old tournament for the Bundesliga champions so far.
Bayern cruised past Auckland City with a borderline farcical 10-0 victory before making life far harder for themselves than they ought to have done in a narrow 2-1 win over a limited Boca Juniors side.
With the job done, Vincent Kompany rang in the changes against Benfica and was made to pay with a 1-0 defeat. Even after introducing the big guns, they struggled to get into gear.
Could that prove costly? A very good Flamengo await. Then probably PSG in the quarters. Life would look considerably simpler if they were on the other side of the draw.
4. Chelsea
The Blues’ 3-1 defeat to Flamengo demonstrates that this all remains a work in progress for Enzo Maresca.
But they nevertheless got the job done and have qualified for the knockouts with relatively little fuss following routine victories over ES Tunis and LAFC.
Tougher tests await, but the draw has opened up kindly for Chelsea. They ought to fancy their chances against Benfica before a chance to put things right against Brazilian opposition in the quarters.
3. Real Madrid
You can never write off Real Madrid when it comes to tournament football. But they’ve got their work cut out as Xabi Alonso tries to instil a new way of playing.
Juventus next up. Then Borussia Dortmund (or a reunion with Sergio Ramos and Monterrey) and then probably PSG or Bayern. That’s just to get to the final.
The early signs are promising. They’ve still got star man Kylian Mbappe to come back, too, although academy graduate Gonzalo Garcia has taken his chance to impress the new boss.
QUIZ: Can you name every club to have won the Club World Cup?
2. Manchester City
…Are City back?
Pep Guardiola’s side have picked up more points than any other Premier League club in 2025 and appear to have taken that momentum into the Club World Cup, the only side to notch a 100% winning record in the group stage.
Wins against Al Ain and Wydad were admittedly routine, but their big 5-2 victory over Juventus – featuring Ballon d’Or holder Rodri making his first start since his ACL injury – was a statement they’re a serious force once again.
Topping the group also puts them into the much more favourable side of the draw, too. Strong favourites to make the final.
1. PSG
Luis Enrique’s men might’ve been given a bloody nose in their shock 1-0 defeat to Botafogo, but there’s no reason to think that wasn’t just a blip.
The all-conquering champions of Europe (obviously) remain the team to beat.
Their 4-0 mauling of Atletico Madrid, who have exited the competition as a result, set the tone. The Parisiens have arrived Stateside meaning business.
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