Club World Cup news: Meet the European representatives
Saturday, June 14 marks the start of the Club World Cup, and after covering the five other confederations, we now turn our attention to the final stop - Europe.
UEFA has 12 teams competing in the competition and while many of the participants are self explanatory, there are a number of teams that have benefitted from the limitation of two teams per country.
Here, Sports News Blitz’s Samuel Leasley introduces our lesser known European contingent (and debutants) participating and explores which teams could spoil the party of the top Champions League-winning teams.
The major players:
Chelsea (England) - Champions League winners 2021 - CWC winning odds 10/1
Real Madrid (Spain) - Champions League winners 2022, 2024 - CWC winning odds 4/1
Manchester City (England) - Champions League winners 2023 - CWC winning odds 5/1
Bayern Munich (Germany) - Highest-ranked non-winner - CWC winning odds 7/1
PSG (France) - Second-highest ranked club - CWC winning odds 5/1
Inter Milan (Italy) - Champions League runner-up - CWC winning odds 14/1
Atletico Madrid (Spain)
Qualifying via a sixth-placed finish in the UEFA coefficients, Atletico took the spot at the CWC at the expense of a recently revitalised Barcelona due to their superior performances between 2021 and 2024.
The club will compete in group B alongside PSG, Botafogo and Seattle Sounders for the chance to progress to the knockout stages.
The standout faces with the squad are talisman Antoine Griezmann, shot stopper Jan Oblak and Anfield conquering Marcos Llorente.
Atletico finished their La Liga campaign in third place, 12 points behind champions Barcelona but will be looking to add a piece of silverware to a campaign that saw them comfortably behind the Catalan side, and Real Madrid.
Despite being in a group with second favourites and current Champions League holders PSG, Atletico are priced at 14/1 to win the tournament, proving Simeone’s side cannot be written off.
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Benfica (Portugal)
A club benefitting from the limited number of clubs allowed per singular nation is Benfica, who qualified as the seventh best eligible team in the coefficients.
Similarly to Atletico, Benfica are also placed alongside a fellow European side in the form of Bayern Munich in Group C.
Benfica had a heartbreaking end to their campaign - losing the league to Sporting by two points before conceding a 101st-minute penalty in normal time to eventually lose to the Taca de Portugal.
The tournament will be Angel Di Maria’s swan song with the club before the Argentine joins boyhood club Rosario Central.
The Portuguese club sit joint in odds with Boca Juniors to progress from group C and are outsiders at 33/1 to win the CWC.
Borussia Dortmund (Germany)
Due to their 2024 exploits, which saw the German side reach the Champions League final, Borussia Dortmund qualified as the third highest eligible club.
The Germans are heavy favourites to progress to the knockout stages with their Group F contemporaries hailing from Brazil (Fluminense), South Korea (Ulsan HD), and South Africa (Mamelodi Sundowns).
Dortmund’s attacking firepower for the tournament contains a few faces linked with moves away, with PSG-linked Serhou Guirassy and Chelsea-linked Jamie Gittens looking to impress on the world stage.
A late Bundesliga resurgence under the guidance of Niko Kovac secured Champions League football for the club, meaning they will look to continue their impressive form into the CWC.
Dortmund remain as comfortable outsiders to win the whole tournament but their recent good form could make their 22/1 odds an enticing proposition.
Juventus (Italy)
The second best ranked Italian coefficient side in the respective four-year period is giants Juventus who have seen a downturn in silverware across recent seasons.
A narrow win over Venezia on the final day of the season secured Champions League football for the Old Lady but defeats to PSV and Empoli in cup competitions have caused concerns over the club’s future aspirations.
Alongside Wydad Casablanca and Al Ain, Juventus will have to compete with Manchester City in Group G in order to progress to the knockout stages.
Igor Tudor has only seen three months in the job since replacing Thiago Motta and will likely need a full summer transfer window to cultivate his squad towards his own vision.
Despite this recent poor showing Juventus are viewed in a similar vein to Borussia Dortmund with bookmakers pricing them at 22/1 to win the CWC.
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Porto (Portugal)
Qualifying via the same route as Benfica, Porto will be looking to outperform their fellow countrymen and progress to the knockout stages following a favourable group stage draw.
Porto will compete against Al Ahly of Egypt, Palmeiras of Brazil and Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami in Group A.
Finishing a distant 11 points behind league leaders Sporting, Porto endured a quiet season and will likely view the tournament as an opportunity for pre-season confidence.
A notable addition to the Porto side is midfielder Gabri Veiga who joins from Saudi Arabian side Al Ahli after securing the Asian Champions League title.
Despite their easier group on paper in comparison to their other European counterparts, Porto sit currently at odds of 40/1 to win the tournament.
Red Bull Salzburg (Austria)
A club that has hugely benefited from the ruling that only two teams may compete per nation is RB Salzburg who were the highest ranking side that was eligible for qualification.
The divisive Austrian outfit have been placed in a difficult group alongside Real Madrid, Saudi giants Al Hilal and Pachuca of Mexico.
RB Salzburg have recently seen a downturn in fortunes, following a run of 10 straight titles between 2013 and 2023, having conceded the last two to Sturm Graz.
The youthful Salzburg squad contains talented Israeli wonderkid Oscar Gloukh and explosive striker Karim Konate alongside former Liverpool midfielder Bobby Clark.
Unsurprisingly, the Austrians are the least fancied European side to progress from their group or win the competition with odds as high as 100/1 for the club to win the CWC.
Looking ahead
The major European powers are the most fancied to progress and win the Club World Cup title. It will be hard to look past both PSG and Real Madrid as tournament favourites.
Real Madrid have been bolstered by the signing of Trent Alexander-Arnold and new manager Xabi Alonso, who for the first time following his successful spell at Leverkusen, will be leading the club through the tournament.
PSG, now reigning Champions League winners, are likely to carry huge confidence going into the competition and I would look no further than the French outfit to win the tournament.
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