2025 FIFA Club World Cup: Group H Preview

Real Madrid, Al Hilal, CF Pachuca, and FC Salzburg make up Group H, the final group of the FIFA Club World Cup.

The group is headlined by Real Madrid who have won this competition a record, five times. However, any of these teams could join them in the knockout stages.

Which two teams will make it out of the group stage?

They were voted FIFA’s Club of the Century.

This historic club is also the most popular club in the world and the winningest of all time.

Real Madrid have won 36 La Liga titles, 15 UEFA Champions Leagues, and five FIFA Club World Cups.

Can they win a sixth in 2025?

League: La Liga

How they qualified: 2021/22 and 2023/24 UEFA Champions League

Top Player: In a team full of stars, it’s hard to pick just one. However, young defender Dean Huijsen could be the difference-maker.

Huijsen ranks highly in many different categories for Premier League defenders to play at least 1,000 minutes this season, per 90 minutes: second for clearances, third for interceptions, fourth for headed clearances and successful long passes and sixth among center backs playing passes ending in the final third.

Additionally, he has scored important goals in his Premier League appearances.

Upside: They have already won this title five times and know exactly what it takes to get the job done. Real Madrid’s roster is up there with the best, but now they just need to go out there and prove it.

Deficiencies: Carlo Ancelotti is no longer here and now enters Xabi Alonso. Players will have to adjust to a brand new system and manager, which takes time. Will it be a natural transition or a rough one?

Saudi Arabia’s most successful club of all time with 19 league titles.

At the 2022 FIFA Club World Cup, they became the first non-host Asian nation to reach the final.

They are one of four Asian Football Confederation (AFC) that will represent the region.

League: Saudi Pro League

How they qualified: 2021 AFC Champions League

Top Players: You might want to keep your eyes fixed on Aleksandar Mitrović, who has scored 27 goals and registered 7 assists, Marcos Leonardo, who has tallied 26 goals and registered 4 assists and Salem Aldawsari, who has scored 27 goals and recorded 17 assists this season.

Upside: In 34 matches, they led the SPL with 95 goals. Al Hilal were averaging nearly three goals scored per match. This team has a ton of attacking prowess and will test backlines and defense in the group.

Deficiencies: The average age of their team is 29 years. In this type of competition, you’ll need to be able to win with depth, limited recovery, and with speed. Could they use all that experience on their behalf?

This is their fifth appearance at the FIFA Club World Cup. They have made two semifinals, with their best finish third in 2017.

Pachuca has won seven Liga MX titles and the Concacaf Champions Cup six times.

League: Liga MX

How they qualified: 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup

Top Player: Salomón Rondón.

The Venezuelan not only has a wide experience, having played in different clubs across Europe, but he also has amassed a vast experience at his 35 years old. As you can see in his chart, he’s a force to be reckoned with and he’s among the Liga MX forwards top three with a high xG and nonpenalty xG (13.9 and 13.1, respectively).

Rondón is also fifth in goals + assists (19), third in shots (92), sixth in SOT (33) and tenth in goals/90 (0.53).

Upside: They come to this competition with a new coach, Jaime Lozano, who can maybe turn things around for them after a poor Clausura 2025 tournament.

Deficiencies: After finishing eighth in Liga MX, the team’s confidence is not peaking. Added to that, the addition of a new coach on such short notice before a big competition might not have been the best for the team.

FC Red Bull Salzburg secured the twelfth and final spot in UEFA’s ranking pathway.

They have 17 league titles to their name, including 10 straight from 2014-2023.

This will be their FIFA Club World Cup debut.

League: Austrian Bundesliga

How they qualified: UEFA ranking pathway

Top Player: You might want to pay attention to Samson Baidoo. The center back has helped guide the backline to 12 clean sheets and also registered 87 tackles and 47 interceptions on the season.

Upside: They are making their first ever appearance at the FIFA Club World Cup. This is also the best possible draw they could ask for with second place up for grabs.

Deficiencies: This team is lacking fire in the final third. In the latest edition of the Champions League, they only scored five goals in eight matches. Their defensive shape wasn’t the best either, since they finished the European competition with 27 GA.

Group Winner: Real Madrid

Second Place Finisher: Al Hilal

Real Madrid is going to win Group H and there is no one that can stop them from doing so. However, Al Hilal, Pachuca, and FC Salzburg are all vying for that runner-up finish to advance to the knockout stages. Although their competition isn’t as strong, Al Hilal possess a dangerous attacking prowess that the others just don’t seem to have.