Club World Cup news: Meet the South American representatives

Following our trip to the North American clubs, we move slowly down the continent towards the major clubs taking the field from both Argentina and Brazil. 

Brazil is the original home of the Club World Cup with the tournament’s inaugural campaign being hosted in the country in 2000. 

Corinthians of Brazil were the last team to dethrone European opposition in the CWC following a 1-0 win over Chelsea in 2012.

Here, Sports News Blitz’s Samuel Leasley explores the South American representatives and outlines the possible surprises that these historic clubs could pose to their European opponents. 

CONMEBOL: Boca Juniors (Argentina)

Due to Brazilian dominance of the CONMEBOL Libertadores, two places were awarded to two eligible teams from the coefficient rankings with both appearing from Argentina. 

Boca were the second-highest-ranked team during the four-year period 2021-2024 and therefore were placed in Group C alongside Auckland City, Bayern Munich and Benfica. 

The Argentine outfit have appeared in the CWC just once before, finishing as runners-up to AC Milan in 2007. 

Boca also have a strong former Manchester United core to their squad with Sergio Romero, Marcos Rojo, Ander Herrera and captain Edinson Cavani set to appear for the club. 

The club appear neck and neck in the odds with Benfica for second-place qualification with Boca EVS to qualify and 4/1 to win the group.  

CONMEBOL: Botafogo (Brazil) 

The 2024 Libertadores winners will be making their first appearance at the CWC in their history following their dramatic 3-1 win over Atletico Mineiro in November. 

For their first appearance, however, the club have been dealt with an incredibly tough group, facing up against UEFA Champions League winners PSG, Atletico Madrid and Seattle Sounders. 

The squad possesses ex-premier league personnel Alex Telles, Marcal and former Everton midfielder Allan. 

Manager Renato Pavia has only had a short spell in charge of the club as of writing but he will look to add a major scalp to his ever-growing managerial CV. 

Botafogo sit at 3/1 to qualify and 9/1 to be group winners with the Brazilian outfit likely required to take points off the European giants to have a chance at progressing. 

CONMEBOL: Flamengo (Brazil)

Flamengo enter their third CWC tournament with a recent history within the competition and a real possibility of advancing to the knockout stage. 

Their two previous appearances have seen the club finish as bronze medalists and runners-up in 2022 and 2019 respectively. 

The Flamengo side has recently been bolstered by the arrival of Jorginho from Arsenal as the Brazilians look to add experience to their ranks. 

Chelsea, ES Tunis and LAFC will provide the opposition for Flamengo and this provides an opportunity for the club to qualify without needing to beat a European side, unlike Botafogo or Boca. 

Flamengo are strongly backed to progress with odds of 2/5 to qualify and 9/4 to win Group D.

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CONMEBOL: Fluminense (Brazil)

The third of four Brazilian Libertadores winners we have Fluminense who defeated fellow competition competitors Boca Juniors in the 2023 final 2-1. 

Their only previous appearance in the competition was in the 2023 edition where they finished as runners-up, losing 4-0 to Manchester City in the final. 

Fluminense are led by captain Thiago Silva who joined the club in 2024 following a four-year spell at Chelsea where he lifted the Champions League and the CWC. 

The Brazilians will compete against Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan HD and Mamelodi Sundowns in Group F with this being a more favourable draw for the club. 

Odds of 2/1 to win the group and 1/4 to qualify to showcase the bookmaker's faith in the Brazilians and outline them as clear favourites to reach the knockouts. 

CONMEBOL: Palmeiras (Brazil)

The 2021 Libertadores winners Palmeiras hold the luxury of having their only European opposition positioned outside the top five domestic leagues and therefore hold a strong position to advance on paper.

Palmeiras have appeared twice in the CWC before following their Libertadores triumphs in 2020 and 2021.

The Brazilians finished as runners-up in their most recent appearance with a 117th Kai Havertz penalty giving Chelsea the trophy.

The competition will be the swansong for wonderkid Estêvão who joins Chelsea following the conclusion of the tournament for a reported €57 million. 

Palmeiras face Porto in their opening match before taking on Al Ahly and Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami in Group A. 

The Brazilians are 1/2 to qualify and 6/4 to win the group, joint with Porto in these odds which outlines group A as arguably the most unpredictable of the entire tournament.

CONMEBOL: River Plate (Argentina)

The top-ranking eligible club in South America outside of the last four Libertadores winners is Argentine side River Plate. 

They have appeared twice in the competition. In 2018 they finished as runners-up to Barcelona and in 2018 they were third.

River’s squad contains former West Ham midfielder Manuel Lanzini and World Cup penalty hero Gonzalo Montiel alongside fellow former Sevilla teammate Marcos Acuna. 

Inter, Monterrey and Urawa Red Diamonds will provide opposition for River in Group E and River will fancy their chances to progress at the expense of both non-European outfits. 

The Argentine outfit sit at 2/1 to win the group outright and 1/3 to qualify in second place ahead of Urawa and Monterrey but comfortably behind Inter. 

Summary

The South American outfits appear to be one of the most consistent favoured outsiders in the competition with the likes of Flamengo and Palmeiras sitting at 33/1 to win the entire competition ahead of the likes of Porto and Benfica. 

Palmeiras in particular will be the team to watch with a litany of talented young players at their disposal and Estêvão looking to prove to Chelsea why they spent as much as they did. 

Whilst Botafogo and Boca may struggle in their respective groups due to two European outfits that is not to say either side should be written off and it would not be puzzling to see one or two surprise results from these sides.

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