2025 FIFA Club World Cup: Group D Preview

Group D of the FIFA Club World Cup truly resembles the vision the governing body of football have for this competition, featuring four clubs from four different continents.

CR Flamengo (Brazil - South America), Espérance Sportive de Tunis (Tunisia - Africa), Chelsea (England - Europe), and Los Angeles FC (USA - North America) will compete in round robin play, with only two teams advancing to the knockout stages.

Who will move on and who will be eliminated?

With an estimated 50 million fans, Flamengo is one of the most followed clubs on the planet. They are also the richest and most valuable club in Brazil.

They will be one of the six CONMEBOL representatives.

Domestically, their seven league titles are third-most in Brazilian Série A.

In 2019, Flamengo lost the Club World Cup in the final to Liverpool. Can they rediscover that magic?

League: Campeonato Brasileiro Série A

How they qualified: 2022 CONMEBOL Libertadores

Upside: The richest club in Brazil is firing on all cylinders while not only excelling in the domestic league but also at a continental level in the Copa Libertadores.

Deficiencies: This competition comes at a difficult time for Flamengo, as fatigue is sure to set in. After playing Copa Libertadores and finishing second in the group, 10 players had to travel abroad to join their national teams for the international break. As a result, the Mengao had to change its schedule to travel to the US and will only have four days to prepare for the debut in the competition.

Top Player: Pedro for his technical quality, finishing, control and positioning. The 27-year-old has recorded 94 goals over the past three seasons despite a knee injury suffered last year. After almost seven months off the pitch, Pedro has proved that he’s really back. His five goals and two assists in under 500 minutes since returning from injury is proof of that.

Pedro has won ten pieces of silverware with the Rio de Janeiro giants, including a Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A league title, two Copa do Brasil and a CONMEBOL Libertadores crown from 2022 - he was also named player of the tournament and finished as the top goalscorer with 12 goals.

They have a record-breaking 33 league titles, 15 Tunisian Cups, and four CAF Champions League titles, making them one of the most successful in Africa.

Espérance will be one of four teams representing Africa.

League: Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle

How they qualified: CAF ranking pathway

Top Players: Midfielder Yan Sasse and left winger Youcef Belaïli are in terrific form with both having 13 goal contributions this season.

Upside: Espérance is playing with house money, has nothing to lose, and will give it their all. Although the team is not flashy, they’re organized and disciplined.

History is also not on their side, as no African club has ever won this competition.

Deficiencies: They struggle to score and they’re definitely the weakest team in the group. Who is going to step up?

With five Premier League titles and two UEFA Champions League titles, they are one of the most decorated clubs in the history of the sport.

They’re also one of twelve teams representing Europe.

After falling short to Brazil’s Corinthians at the 2012 FIFA Club World Cup, they would get revenge in 2021 by beating Brazil’s Palmeiras to claim their first.

Can they claim another in 2025?

League: The Premier League

How they qualified: 2020/21 UEFA Champions League

Top Players: Chelsea has an elite roster with great experience. Two young players everyone should keep an eye on are Cole Palmer and the 2022 Young Player of the Year, Enzo Fernández.

Palmer has had a roller coaster of a season. After tearing the Premier League down in his rookie year, the 2024 Young Player of the Season has been impressing pundits and fans alike. However, he hasn’t been able to be as consistent as he was last year and that also marked Chelsea’s season.

The winger can make the difference for Chelsea in the Club World Cup because if Palmer is on, then Chelsea is on.

Upside: They’re no doubt the best team in the group. The roster is stacked with talent and they can get results any way they please. Also, Chelsea is coming off in great form, recently winning the Europa Conference League title.

Deficiencies: They have shown in the latest season of the Premier League that consistency is not a word they’re too familiar with.

One of three Major League Soccer teams looking to make a name for themselves on the biggest stage of global club football.

In their first seven seasons, they have already won three major domestic trophies: 2019 & 2022 MLS Supporters’ Shield, and the 2022 MLS Cup.

League: MLS

How they qualified: FIFA Club World Cup Play-In (2-1 win over Club América)

Top Player: Denis Bouanga. The 30-year-old was chosen MVP after scoring the winning goal in extra time against Club América to qualify them for the Club World Cup and stunning everyone at the same time.

The Gabonese has scored 80 goals and registered 35 assists in 127 matches played with LAFC this season. Other interesting stats include being first in successful take-ons in 2024 and 2025 (91 and 50, respectively), first in carries into the penalty area from 2023-2025 (87, 105 and 60, respectively) and first in progressive passes received (191).

Upside: Although their matches are on the East Coast, they are still one of the home teams. This is still a massive advantage for LAFC as they will have significantly less travel and are already in mid-season form.

Deficiencies: Who is going to step up as their number nine, will it Jeremy Ebobisse or Olivier Giroud? One of them have to score for their team to have any chance of advancing.

Group Winner: Chelsea

Second Place Finisher: Flamengo

It’s very simple, Chelsea is the best team in this group and it’s not close.

The real story is in the battle for the second spot.

Can LAFC give Flamengo a run for their money and force the upset? Too many things need to happen for that to occur.