Sports

Teams, Players, and Expectations: 2025 World Cup

Damian Vojtech and Kajo Vojtech • June 2, 2025

The Club World Cup stunning trophy, plated in 24 karat gold.

For our last article of the year, we hope that we can make this the best one, Tigers! All we have to say is sit back and enjoy.

This coming summer, the football world will enjoy a new version of a historic competition, the FIFA Club World Cup. This year’s tournament is bigger in size and being played in the United States for the very first time. With 32 clubs, the tournament will be a celebration of world football. For the clubs, it’s not another trophy; it’s the chance to claim history.

A Brief History of the Club World Cup

The Club World Cup originated in the year 2000. FIFA wished to create a tournament on the international stage in which the champions of each of the different continents would face one another. Before the Club World Cup, there was the Intercontinental Cup, which was a match between the champions of Europe and America.

The first Club World Cup was in Brazil in the year 2000, but financial problems transpired and the second tournament was not held until 2005. It’s been held almost every year in different countries like Japan, the UAE, and Morocco. Those tournaments usually only featured seven teams, which meant six winners of continent competitions (including one from the host country). In addition, the format has changed and it will replicate that of the World Cup. The Club World Cup has expanded to 32 clubs, and it will be hosted every four years. This summer’s tournament is the first of its kind, and this is meant to become a big event in football around the world.

Qualified Teams and How They Qualified

Here is a look at some of the qualifying teams and how they achieved this:

Man City – 2022–23 UEFA Champions, Champions League winners. Under the manager Pep Guardiola, this team has been dominating England and Europe.
Real Madrid – The 2021–22 Champions League champions will look to add another title to their already huge list of accomplishments. Real Madrid has already won the Club World Cup five times.
Chelsea FC – 2020–21 UEFA Champions League winners. They might have been struggling recently in the Premier League, but there is still quality in their squad as they continue playing in the Premier League and have a chance to win the Conference Cup Finals.
Palmeiras – The winners of the 2021 Copa are a team famous for their history of bringing “wonderkids”.
Al Ahly – They have won a number of CAF (Confederation of African Football) Champions League titles, including 2020 and 2021. They are the world’s most successful African club.
Monterrey – This CONCACAF club qualified as a result of their impressive work in the CONCACAF Champions League. They are currently one of the, if not the, top North American clubs. With the likes of Sergio Ramos, they have experienced players. They are dark horses.
Seattle Sounders – The MLS winners of the CONCACAF Champions League. They’ll have a home advantage and are looking to the home crowd to make a big contribution.
Auckland City – They are the champions of the Oceania region, having played a lot of Club World Cups before, but they have generally struggled against the big teams.

The remainder of the other sides qualified through continental success and were selected through performances over an extended period of time. A few positions remain to be determined by way of playoffs or confederation standings, but the vast majority of the tournament’s positions are already set.

This year’s Club World Cup features and the teams. The visual shows how the teams are played and who they will be facing.

Players to Watch:

The tournament is star-studded, and the following are some of the names to look out for among the fans:

Erling Haaland (Manchester City) – The Norwegian striker is a goal machine since arriving to England. If he’s fully fit, he’s going to be unstoppable.

Vinícius Júnior (Real Madrid) – Brazil’s Vinícius Júnior is an attacking performer with the ball in his possession and is arguably the most dangerous attacking prospect in the game today.

Rodrygo (Real Madrid) – Another Brazilian youngster who seems to consistently elevate his game in big matches.

Pedro (Flamengo) – Physical and clinical striker who is Flamengo’s key man recently.

Sebastián Córdova (Monterrey) – This Mexican midfielder offers creativity and vision to the game.

Mohamed El Shenawy (Al Ahly) – A leader on the pitch, plus the goalkeeper’s experience can also prove to be great.

Nicolás Lodeiro (Seattle Sounders) – A Sounders playmaker and captain who can bring it all home.

A rather unknown figure but one to watch, Nicolas Lodeiro. He will not disappoint.

Erling Haaland during one of his games this season. He has been unstoppable ever since joining Man City.

Last seasons Ballon’dor runner up. Vini Jr has been clinical this season

The craze for this man has been on the uprising. Pedro is sure to be highly anticipated for the Club World Cup.

Who’s Going to Win it All?

While anything is possible in football, there are some teams that are the clear runners to the Cup.

Manchester City will likely be the biggest favorite. They arguably have the greatest coach in all of football. Pep has the most experience. If they play to their level, they will almost be unstoppable.
Real Madrid can’t be ruled out. They have the experience of playing in big tournaments and the team to win trophies, so they are a threat. They can easily win once more.
The strongest Brazilian contenders in South America are Flamengo and Palmeiras. Brazilian clubs are always well prepared and physical, and if they play well, they can beat the Europeans.
Some of the dark horses include Monterrey, who has consistently played well, and Al Ahly, who has the potential and the will to beat bigger clubs.

Final Thoughts

Currently, Manchester City is the safest bet, but with a different format of the game and in new surroundings, upsets can happen for sure. Heat, travel, and intensity can also be vengeful, even for the strongest clubs. The new Club World Cup is FIFA’s new top stage. It is a bid to take club football to the world level. Even though players’ workloads and tournament size have been criticized by some, the majority of fans cannot wait to watch their teams battle for global dominance. This summer, as the tournament gets under way in the United States, millions await with anticipation to see who will create history. It is, of course, only a “club” tournament, but to players and supporters, it is the world. Thank you, Tigers, tremendously, for a great year of articles. We can’t wait to see y’all next year! Until then, farewell, Tigers!

Works Cited

“FIFA Club World Cup 2025 Favorites: Top Contenders, Predictions.” Sports Illustrated, 22 May 2025, https://www.si.com/soccer/fifa-club-world-cup-2025-favorites-top-contenders-predictions. Accessed 23 May 2025.

“FIFA Club World Cup tournament in 2025.” FIFA, https://www.fifa.com/en/tournaments/mens/club-world-cup/usa-2025/articles/teams-dates-venue-groups-draw-matches-tickets. Accessed 23 May 2025.

Middleton, Emma. “Club World Cup explained: Teams, format, prize money, draw, schedule revealed.” BBC, 3 December 2024, https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c9835np3205o. Accessed 25 May 2025.

Rai, Shreyas. “Club World Cup 2025: Full list of qualified teams & how qualification works for revamped FIFA tournament.” Goal.com, 15 May 2025, https://www.goal.com/en-in/news/club-world-cup-2025-how-qualification-works-list-qualified-teams/bltac42bd2227f80540. Accessed 26 May 2025.

Romano, Fabrizio. “2025 FIFA Club World Cup.” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_FFIFA. (2025). Ten young stars to watch at the FIFA Club World Cup 2025. Retrieved May 27, 2025, from

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About the Contributors

Damian Vojtech, Staff Reporter

My name is Damian Vojtech and I am a junior at Elmwood Park High School. Throughout my high school career so far, I have played a big role in the boy’s soccer team, and I plan on winning a title before I graduate. After high school, I plan on committing to a university or college to play soccer and major in business or economics.

Kajo Vojtech, Staff Reporter

Hello! My name is Kajo Vojtech. I am currently a junior, and I play soccer at EPHS. For my future I plan on majoring in technology, and minoring in culinary. If that falls through, I’d like to join the police force or become a firefighter. My dream colleges are Northwestern, Duke, and Penn State. I hope to play soccer professionally when I am older.