The Club World Cup field is set to shrink from 32 teams to 16 over the coming week as the group stage concludes across the U.S., leading into the knockout rounds starting Saturday.
As anticipated, the round of 16 is expected to primarily feature clubs from Europe and South America. However, the tournament has not been without its surprises. South American teams have collectively suffered only one loss thus far. Flamengo stands out as one of the few teams that have already guaranteed their spot in the next phase, securing it with a game in hand after victories against Esperance de Tunis and Chelsea.
Meanwhile, Inter Miami is well-positioned to be potentially the only team from outside Europe or South America to advance to the last 16, thanks to their unexpected 2-1 win against Porto. Despite the strong expectations for many teams, most anticipated qualifiers have yet to officially clinch their places, setting the stage for a dramatic final round of group stage matches.
Club World Cup Tiebreakers
- Group stage points
- Head-to-head results between the tied teams
- Goal difference in games between the tied teams
- Goals scored in games between the tied teams
- Overall group stage goal difference
- Overall group stage goals scored
- Disciplinary points (yellow and red cards)
- Drawing of lots
Group Scenarios
Group A Scenarios
- Palmeiras advance to the round of 16 with:
- A win or draw against Inter Miami
- A loss to Inter Miami AND Al Ahly win over Porto OR Porto win over Al Ahly AND Palmeiras beat Porto on overall goal difference
- Inter Miami advance to the round of 16 with:
- A win or draw against Palmeiras
- A loss to Palmeiras AND Porto win over Al Ahly OR Inter Miami beat Al Ahly on overall goal difference
- Porto advance to the round of 16 with:
- A win against Al Ahly AND Palmeiras` loss to Inter Miami AND Porto beat Palmeiras on overall goal difference
- Al Ahly advance to the round of 16 with:
- A win against Porto AND Inter Miami loss to Palmeiras AND Al Ahly beat Inter Miami on overall goal difference
Group B Scenarios
- Botafogo advance to the round of 16 with:
- A win or draw against Atletico Madrid
- A loss to Atletico Madrid AND Paris Saint-Germain loss to Seattle Sounders
- Paris Saint-Germain advance to the round of 16 with:
- A win against Seattle Sounders
- A draw against Seattle Sounders AND Botafogo win or draw against Atletico Madrid
- A loss to Seattle Sounders AND Botafogo win against Atletico Madrid AND tiebreakers favor Paris Saint-Germain
- Atletico Madrid advance to the round of 16 with:
- A win against Botafogo AND Paris Saint-Germain draw or loss against Seattle Sounders
- A draw against Botafogo AND Paris Saint-Germain loss to Seattle Sounders
- Seattle Sounders advance to the round of 16 with:
- A win against Paris Saint-Germain by three or more goals AND Atletico Madrid loss to Botafogo
Group C Scenarios
- Bayern Munich: Qualified for the round of 16
- Benfica advance to the round of 16 with:
- A win or draw against Bayern Munich
- A loss to Bayern Munich AND Boca Juniors draw or loss to Auckland City
- Boca Juniors advance to the round of 16 with:
- A win against Auckland City AND Benfica loss to Bayern Munich AND Boca Juniors beat Benfica on overall goal difference
- Auckland City: Eliminated from the competition
Group D Scenarios
- Flamengo: Qualified for the round of 16
- Chelsea advance to the round of 16 with:
- A win or draw against Esperance de Tunis
- Esperance de Tunis advance to the round of 16 with:
- A win against Chelsea
- LAFC: Eliminated from the competition
Group E Scenarios
- River Plate advance to the round of 16 with:
- A win against Inter
- A draw against Inter AND Monterrey draw or loss to Urawa Red Diamonds
- Inter advance to the round of 16 with:
- A win or draw against River Plate
- A loss to River Plate AND Monterrey draw or loss to Urawa Red Diamonds
- Monterrey advance to the round of 16 with:
- A win against Urawa Red Diamonds AND River Plate loss to Inter OR Inter loss to River Plate OR a goalless draw between River Plate and Inter
- Urawa Red Diamonds: Eliminated from the competition
Group F Scenarios
- Fluminense advance to the round of 16 with:
- A win or draw against Mamelodi Sundowns
- A loss to Mamelodi Sundowns AND Borussia Dortmund loss to Ulsan HD by the same or larger goal margin as Fluminense`s loss
- Borussia Dortmund advance to the round of 16 with:
- A win or draw against Ulsan HD
- A loss to Ulsan HD AND Fluminense win or draw against Mamelodi Sundowns
- Mamelodi Sundowns advance to the round of 16 with:
- A win against Fluminense AND Borussia Dortmund loss to Ulsan HD
- Ulsan HD: Eliminated from the competition
Group G Scenarios
- Juventus: Qualified for round of 16
- Manchester City: Qualified for round of 16
- Wydad Casablanca: Eliminated from the competition
- Al-Ain: Eliminated from the competition
Group H Scenarios
- Real Madrid advance to the round of 16 with:
- A win or draw against RB Salzburg
- A loss to RB Salzburg AND Al-Hilal draw or loss to Pachuca
- RB Salzburg advance to the round of 16 with:
- A win or draw against Real Madrid
- A loss to Real Madrid AND Al-Hilal loss to Pachuca
- Al-Hilal advance to the round of 16 with:
- A win against Pachuca AND Real Madrid loss to RB Salzburg OR RB Salzburg loss to Real Madrid
- Pachuca: Eliminated from the competition
Dominic Ashworth