2025 FIFA Club World Cup: Group E Preview

Group E has a club from North America, South America, Europe, or Asia.

River Plate, Monterrey CF, Inter Milan, Urawa Reds will face off against one another with only two spots up for grabs.

Who will reign supreme in Group E and advance to the FIFA Club World Cup knockout stage?

Along with CA Boca Juniors, the two clubs will be representing Argentina.

They are considered one of the best teams in all of South America, but their international resume makes them a legit threat for this competition.

River have compiled 54 domestic titles and 12 international titles, making them one of the most accomplished sides in the tournament.

League: Liga Profesional de Fútbol (Argentine Primera División)

How they qualified: CONMEBOL ranking pathway

Top Player: The 17-year-old sensation Franco Mastantuono is no doubt the player to watch in this Argentine club. The right winger has made nine goal contributions in 16 games and will use this international stage to keep showing what he’s capable of.

There’s a reason why every club is pushing to add this wonderkid to their team. If you aren’t familiar why, you’ll soon find out.

Upside: They have passionate fans who will definitely show up at the stadium, and support can never be underestimated. Regarding their offense, they have improved it a little by adding Sebastián Driussi to the roster and they have finished first in the Copa Libertadores group stage.

Deficiencies: Although the Millonarios were having a good tournament in their domestic league, they fell short and were eliminated in penalty shootouts.

Will Franco Mastantuono still be on the team? If so, is he going to play?

Monterrey has qualified for the FIFA Club World Cup five times with their best finish being third place in 2019.

The club has won five LIGA MX titles and CONCACAF Champions Leagues.

League: Liga MX

How they qualified: 2021 Concacaf Champions Cup

Top Player: Midfielder Sergio Canales had 15 goal contributions in 19 matches last season. Other names to keep an eye out for include: captain Sergio Ramos and attacker Germán Berterame.

Canales was once considered one of the most promising attacking midfielders in Spain. The former Real Madrid player has been dealing with injuries but that hasn’t deterred him from making a difference in Mexico.

In the latest season with Monterrey, he’s ranked fourth in goals (14), sixth in shots (86), fifth in SOT (35), seventh in progressive passes received (209), first in penalty kicks made (5), sixth in xG (11.0), sixth in fouls drawn (56), and first in crosses (176).

Upside: They’ll have a significant “home-field” advantage with each of their matches being held at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. Expect the crowd to give them a major boost and make life difficult for their opposition.

Deficiencies: Monterrey’s latest tournament performance in their domestic league, leaves a lot to be desired in the goalscoring department. To make matters worse, they’re shorthanded with midfielder Sergio Canales not having many options to find in attack.

In the latest Liga MX quarterfinals, they had a man advantage for over 70 minutes and still could not advance.

Inter Milan is one of the most storied clubs in all of football.

They have won 20 league titles, three UEFA Champion Leagues, and won the 2010 FIFA Club World Cup.

Internazionale is one of two teams (Juventus) from Italy competing in this tournament.

League: Serie A

How they qualified: UEFA ranking pathway

Top Player: Lautaro Martínez, Yann Sommer, and Marcus Thuram

The captain, Lautaro Martinez, finished seventh in the Ballon d’Or voting last year. He is widely recognized as one of the best players in the world because he gets it done in attack and in defense.

Martínez has had an outstanding 2023-24 season when he ranked first in many categories in Serie A, followed by a quieter one but not bad in 2025. He’s ranked seventh in goals (12), ninth in non-penalty goals/90 (0.42), third in xG and non-penalty xG (13.5), and fifth in shots (102),

Upside: They belong to a small group of real contenders to win this tournament. The Champions League finalists are no doubt one of the top teams in the world. They possess a world class attack and defense and possess one of the most balanced rosters.

Deficiencies: How will they respond after a deflating 0-5 loss to PSG in the UEFA Champions League final?

Japan’s Urawa Red Diamonds are one of four AFC representatives for this competition.

Although they only have one league title to their name, Urawa have three won AFC Champions League trophies.

The club has two semifinals appearances: In 2007, when they finished third in the FIFA CWC and fourth in the last edition of 2023.

League: J1 League

How they qualified: 2022 AFC Champions League

Top Players: Defender Marius Høibråten, midfielder Ryoma Watanabe, center forward Thiago (3 goals in 9 matches), and attacking midfielder Matheus Savio (6 goal contributions in 16 matches).

Upside: Despite their latest poor performances, they have improved their offense significantly by adding some Brazilians to their roster and a defender who has been making a difference in the form of Marius Høibråten.

Deficiencies: They had a poor performance in the AFC Champions League Elite and their quality has been dropping for at least two years now. At a domestic stage, they finished in the middle of the table last year and haven’t won it since 2006. Besides, they have an aged roster since with no players under 24 years old.

Group Winner: Inter Milan

Second Place Finisher: Monterrey CF

Internazionale is the class of Group E and should have little to no trouble moving through even if they are coming off a tough loss in the UEFA Champions League final. There is too much talent and firepower on this team for the others to handle.

According to multiple reports, Franco Mastantuono looks like he’ll be on his way out which would be a massive boost to Monterrey who could sneak into the knockout stages with River Plate likely to be without their star.