2025 Club World Cup: Top contenders and stars to watch – Nsemkeka
The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, which will take place in the United States of America from June 14 to July 13, 2025, promises to be not only exhilarating but also a display of the world’s best talents.
This month-long tournament will give fans the chance to watch the world’s best stars assembled for their respective teams, with new additions showcasing their skills and justifying the investments made in them.
In this newly expanded tournament, the best of clubs from 6 continents, 20 countries, and a total of 32 football clubs will be hoping to clinch the title, with some more realistic champions the other,s but as tournaments go, anything can happen.
Tournament Format
In this newly expanded tournament, 32 football clubs from 20 countries across six continents will compete. The teams will be divided into eight groups of four, with the top two advancing to the Round of 16. The group stage will run from June 14-26, followed by the knockout stages.
The top two advances from each group and the third and fourth from each group will be kicked out of the tournament. However, in the situation where there are no clear two teams to advance to the Round of 16, their finishing position will be determined by points obtained in the matches between the sides in question, not goal difference, like at the World Cup. If they still can’t be separated after this, then various other head-to-heads, then group-wide tiebreakers will be applied, all the way down to the drawing of lots.
What is the tournament’s schedule?
Group stage: June 14-26
Round of 16: June 28-July 1
Quarter-finals: July 4-5
Semi-finals: July 8-9
Final: July 13
Stars to Shine
Kylian Mbappe
One name I expect to cement his stardom at the global level is Kylian Mbappe, the French National Team captain. The 26-year-old is no stranger to pressure as he helped Les Bleus win the 2018 FIFA World Cup in style at the age of 19 under the guidance of Didier Deschamps.
Now 26 and Real Madrid’s leading top scorer from the 2024/2025 season, the expectations are even higher as Los Blancos ended the season on a low, missing out on the UEFA Champions League, La Liga, Copa Del Rey and even the UEFA Nations League with France.
Mbappe finished with the best goal stats ever for a Madrid debut season, his 43 in all competitions surpassing the 37 of Chilean forward Ivan Zamorano in the 1992-93 season. The 31 league goals also earned Mbappe the ‘Pichichi’ award as La Liga’s top scorer and also the European Golden Boot for the most goals across Europe’s top domestic divisions.
The French goal poacher will be expected to lead the revolution under the guidance of their new gaffer, Xabi Alonso, who joined the Spanish side from Bayer Leverkusen, where one can say he overachieved.
It will be interesting to see how the Spanish gaffer will deploy the French star, but one will expect his goalscoring prowess to continue on the global stage when all these stars descend to show off what they are made of.
‘Cold’ Palmer
The England international may have looked out of place in 2025, but expect the former Manchester City protégé to outshine his peers when Chelsea take centre stage in the FIFA Club World Cup.
The 23-year-old has been the star of Chelsea Football Club since joining from Manchester City, and he will be expected to be the sauce to Enzo Maresca’s stew with a few additions expected to elevate his game with a promising partnership, hoping to be brewed himself and new signing, Liam Delap.
Cole Palmer has the ability to create something out of nothing with his two assists against Real Betis in the UEFA Conference League, a testament to what he brings to the table.
With the number 10 shirt snatched from Mykhailo Mudryk, one can only hope for more ‘Cold’ celebrations as Chelsea hopes to grab their second FIFA Club World Cup title after becoming the only club to win every trophy available in Europe.
Micheal Olise
Not many expected Michael Olise to be the star of the 2024/2025 Bundesliga season, but the talented French winger showed exactly why Bayern Munich had to spend that much to bring him to the Allianz Arena.
For €50m, many had the expectations of being a 2-3 year project, but he had proven to be an immediate-effect star for Vincent Kompany’s side, who ended the season with the Bundesliga title.
Ultimately, the addition of Olise was one of the reasons why one would go watch Bayern Munich, as his dynamism on the flanks made the Bavarians electric and very dangerous on the attack for teams they played against.
With such impact, the 23-year-old will be hoping to light up the world stage for Bayern Munich, who will be taking on Auckland City, Benfica and Boca Juniors in the group stages of the FIFA Club World Cup.
Clubs to look out for
Paris Saint-Germain
The breathtaking yet complex side under Luis Enrique heads into the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup in high spirits after conquering Europe, having breezed past Inter Milan in a one-sided final in Munich.
On the field, they resemble a perfect symphony orchestrated by the tactical mind of their Spanish coach, Luis Enrique, who has found a way to get the best out of Ousmane Dembélé, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Vitinha, and João Neves—each of whom was electric for the French side.
Their splendid performances left no room for doubt as they overcame difficult hurdles, outplayed Premier League champions Liverpool, put four past Manchester City, and made light work of Arsenal in their run to becoming champions of Europe.
With such a young team, there is a sense that this could be just the beginning of total domination, fueled by an endless cash flow backed by Qatari investment.
With a ferocious yet dynamic attack and relentless pressing, opponents may find it difficult to outplay them or even break their press, which makes them both lethal and dangerous to face.
Thanks to this unique style of play, youthful exuberance, and a hunger for more success, PSG stands firmly at the top of the list of contenders most likely to win the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.
Real Madrid
The five-time Club World Cup champions will be looking to make it a record sixth when the tournament kicks off in the United States of America.
Taking on RB Salzburg, Pachuca and Al Hilal in the group stages of the tournament, it is everyone’s expectation for the star-studded side to dominate and even convincingly make it to at least the semi-final stage.
Their failure to win any major trophies last season led to a massive revolution with a change of head coach: Xabi Alonso in for Carlo Ancelotti.
They have gone one to acquire the signature of Dean Huijsen, signed from Bournemouth after they triggered his £50m ($67.7m) clause. Trent Alexander-Arnold could have arrived for free on July 1 once his contract at Liverpool ran out, but Madrid have had to pay £8.4m to get him a couple of weeks early, specifically so he can play in this tournament.
These investments, coupled with the existing stars like Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr, Los Blancos fans will be expecting nothing short of winning the tournament.
With a proud tradition of winning, a breath of fresh air with the introduction of Xabi Alonso, who is a modern coach, there are plenty of arguments for them to win the tournament again.
Fringe Champions to look out for
There is a good shout for the likes of Manchester City, Bayern Munich or even Chelsea FC to be surprise champions at the end of the tournament.
Manchester City, Bayern Munich, and Chelsea FC shouldn’t be underestimated as potential surprise champions. Manchester City’s summer signings, including Rayan Ait Nouri, Tijjani Reijnders, and potential new recruit Rayan Cherki, could revitalise their squad. With Pep Guardiola’s tactical genius at the helm, they’ll be a force to be reckoned with.
Bayern Munich under Vincent Kompany have been an incredible team to watch, especially in attack, as the likes of Harry Kane, Michael Olise, and Jamal Musiala are expected to torment teams.
Chelsea, meanwhile, may be the dark horse of the tournament. Despite their youthful team and inexperienced coach Enzo Maresca, they’ve assembled a talented squad with players like Cole Palmer, Liam Delap, and Moises Caicedo. Given their rich history of success, including every major domestic and European honour, Chelsea’s resurgence shouldn’t be ruled out.
All these factors, teams and stars give credence to the fact that the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup will be one for the history books and definitely will be worth every minute of watch time.