Teams That Need To Win the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup

Fri, May 30, 2025
by CapperTek

The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup is finally here, whether you like it or not. For many, the competition is seen as an unnecessary cash grab by world football's governing body, with critics circling regarding the extra matches added to an already packed footballing calendar. Fans of teams not competing in the States this summer are claiming that the tournament is a glorified preseason tour, but there are some people who aren't complaining one bit.

They, of course, are people associated with the 32 teams heading Stateside this June and July. While they may have had their concerns when their participation in the showdown was initially announced, those fears were quickly dispelled when FIFA announced that they were slapping a big prize pot on the tournament. But which teams are in dire need of a victory in the Club World Cup this summer? Let's find out.

Real Madrid

There is one team that online sport betting sites have profiled as the favorite to leave the States as World Champions this summer: Real Madrid. The latest of Bovada's sport betting odds currently make Los Blancos a narrow 9/2 favorite to emerge victorious in mid-July, but the Spanish giants have just completed a disastrous season by their lofty standards.

A year ago, the capital city outfit had just claimed a record-extending 15th Champions League title, adding that to the La Liga trophy they had already claimed. Rather than resting on their laurels, they added arguably the best player on the planet to their already stacked squad in the form of Kylian Mbappe. But the mercurial Frenchman's maiden campaign at the Bernabeu has been disappointing to say the least.

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Yes, the former Paris Saint-Germain man has scored plenty of goals, 42 of them in fact. However, he hasn't been able to lead his new team to a single piece of silverware. To make matters worse, Real Madrid have lost on four occasions to archrivals Barcelona, twice in the league, again in the Spanish Super Cup final, and finally in the Copa Del Rey showpiece.

As such, this summer's Club World Cup represents Los Blancos' final opportunity to win a trophy this season. If they don't, the 2024/25 campaign will mark their first in four years in which they have ended a year empty-handed. That would represent a huge embarrassment for the Spanish giants, especially because they moved heaven and earth to bring Mbappe to the club barely 12 months ago.

Manchester City

Pep Guardiola's Manchester City have had a similarly disappointing campaign. They headed into the 2024/25 season as a favorite to win a record-extending fifth straight Premier League title, but their championship defence went up in smoke almost immediately. An injury to Ballon d'Or-winning midfielder Rodri exposed huge holes in The Clues' squad, and that triggered a downturn in form that saw City drop down to sixth place in the league table, as well as suffering an early exit in the Champions League to the aforementioned Real Madrid.

Guardiola's side did recover somewhat as they managed to finish in the Premier League top four and secure Champions League football next term. However, with news that Rodri has recovered from his injury and is available for selection at the Club World Cup, the Blues could be set for a blockbuster finish to the season.

The bookies make them a 5/1 second favorite to leave MetLife with the title, and everyone connected to the club will certainly hope they can live up to the billing. If not, the 2024/25 season will go down in history as the worst of Pep Guardiola's nine-year-long reign.

Any Team Outside of Europe

European football is considered the best on the planet, and rightfully so. All the best players play on the continent, and as such, teams from that side of the Atlantic are far stronger. That strength is represented in the Club World Cup as well, with European teams winning all but four installments of the competition, albeit in a previous format.

As such, it can be argued that a non-European team needs to win the competition to prove that the continent's stranglehold on the beautiful game is loosening somewhat. They may well be outsiders, but that doesn't make a tournament victory any less needed. And some huge names are embarking on the States from all corners of the globe that will have genuine hopes of mounting a deep tournament run.

Brazilian Serie A league leaders Palmeiras are currently the team with the best odds from outside of Europe, being priced at 35/1 to be crowned World Champions. They are closely followed by compatriots Botafogo, who were crowned champions of both Brazil and South America last season. Argentinian giants Boca Juniors and River Plate are considered 50/1, while a stacked Al Hilal squad containing the likes of Aleksandr Mitrovic, Sergej Milinković-Savić, and João Cancelo will be aiming to make an impression.