Four European Teams to Target at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup

While all the hype in the football world at the moment is in the culmination of the European season, this summer, the FIFA Club World Cup will take center stage. The tournament has been drastically revamped ahead of this year’s rebirth. Gone are the single knockout games between the champions of each confederation, instead replaced with a 32-team tournament that replicates its international counterpart.

This June and July, plenty of the big guns will be heading to the United States in a bid to be crowned world champions at MetLife Stadium on July 13th. The likes of Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, and Manchester City will all be in action, and it is those heavyweights that betting websites make the favorites for glory. The latest odds from Bovada’s betting website have the aforementioned Los Blancos listed as the 4/1 frontrunners, but there are plenty of their continent-mates that could struggle this summer.

While Europe is considered the dominant continent on earth for footballing greatness, some of the teams featuring at the Club World Cup this summer have left us scratching our heads. But while we may not feel they deserve to be there, their inclusions open up plenty of betting opportunities for backing against each team. Here are four teams every punter should consider targeting and betting against at the upcoming showcase.

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FC Salzburg

Salzburg has long been the dominant force in Austrian football. Between 2013 and 2023 they won ten straight Bundesliga titles, but that hardly makes them one of Europe’s best teams. Somehow, they are considered the ninth-ranked team by UEFA’s rolling four-year ranking, despite the fact that they have made it out of the Champions League group stage just once in their entire history.

In that tournament this season, they finished third bottom of the 36-team league phase, winning just one of their eight games. They also look set to miss out on the Bundesliga title for the second straight year. As such, betting against them in the Club World Cup seems like a no-brainer.

They have been drawn in a group alongside Real Madrid, Al Hilal, and Pachuca in the group stages, and we can see them losing against all three. They will be huge underdogs against the Spanish giants, but will perhaps be favored against both the Saudis and the Mexicans, providing betting opportunities to cash in at lengthy odds. Consider doing exactly that, as well as betting on either Al Hilal or Pachuca to qualify for the knockout round as runners-up to Los Blancos.

FC Porto

Portuguese outfit FC Porto are the +135 favorites to top Group A, but we aren’t convinced. Admittedly, The Dragons do have pedigree, but their current side is a shadow of the one that Jose Mourinho led to UEFA Champions League glory back in 2004. They are currently way down in fourth place in the Liga Portugal, some 13 points behind league leaders Sporting CP, and have been cut off from the top three by unheralded Braga.

Porto will have their work cut out if they are to live up to the billing this summer. They will face off against Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami in Group A, a team that will be competing on home turf and have huge support. Brazilian giants Palmeiras will also prove to be a stern test, and there is a real chance that the Portuguese side won’t even make it past the group stage.

Borussia Dortmund

Much like the aforementioned Porto, Borussia Dortmund is also a huge name. They featured in the UEFA Champions League final last season and had Karim Adeyemi and Niclas Füllkrug brought their shooting boots, they may very well have beaten Real Madrid at Wembley. Unfortunately, though, they didn’t, and they ultimately succumbed to a 2-0 defeat under the arch.

Real Madrid are the Champions League winners for a 15th time! 🏆#UCLFinal https://t.co/LSxtiVV4GL pic.twitter.com/YgYKIxwuP4

— Bovada (@BovadaOfficial) June 1, 2024

Fast forward 12 months, and Die Schwarzgelben head to the States after a dismal domestic campaign. They have spent the vast majority of the season in the lower half of the Bundesliga table, but in recent weeks, they have found form and powered their way up to sixth place. Even so, they could have their work cut out at the Club World Cup.

Their biggest challenge comes in the form of Brazilian side Fluminense. The Tricolor Flu Fluzão has a talented squad led by Colombian winger Jhon Arias, while veteran former Selecao internationals Renato Augusto and Ganso can tear apart any team on their day, despite their advancing years. As well as that, South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns and Korea’s Ulsan Hyundai are no slouches, and both will give the German side all they can handle and more.

Juventus

Juventus were the dominant force in Italian football as recently as 2020. However, the last five years have seen them fall down the pecking order, and their current crop is a far cry from the one formerly anchored by Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci.

While they should still have enough about them to qualify from Group G as runners-up to Manchester City, don’t be surprised to see them dumped out early in the knockout stages. They will most likely face Real Madrid in the Round of 16, and that could spell the end for the Bianconeri.