Sunday action at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup will see Real Madrid look to shake off their first match disappointment against LIGA MX side Pachuca, while Juventus and Manchester City can secure passage to the knockout phase of the tournament if they win their second matches in Group G. Here is your look at all the action.
Juventus vs Wydad AC
(Sunday in Philadelphia)
Randal Kolo Muani and Francisco Conceição combined for four goals as Juventus took Al Ain to the sword in the opening match for The Old Lady in the Club World Cup. Juventus dominated with 16 shots leading to a 5-0 victory over the side from the Middle East. While some European sides have started this tournament in sluggish form, Juventus look like dark horse contenders, Michele Di Gregorio was fantastic in net. Wydad AC have to be proud of their performance against Manchester City, they lost 2-0, but had multiple scoring chances despite not seeing much of the ball. The trouble for Wydad, is Juventus is going to offer as much of a challenge, if not more, as Man City did. Many teams outside of Europe have been competitive this tournament, but it doesn’t look like Wydad have the pieces to pull off a huge upset. Prediction: Juventus 3 Wydad AC 1
Manchester City vs Al Ain
(Sunday in Atlanta)
Rayan Cherki and Tijjani Reijnders were in the lineup as Manchester City got past Wydad AC 2-0, Phil Foden and Jeremy Doku both scored in the first half, while Rico Lewis was shown a red card late in the game. With Al Ain struggling, and this game played indoors in Atlanta rather than in sweltering heat, a full fitness Man City should secure passage to the knockout phase before facing the other UEFA side in this group. Pep Guardiola’s men are dreaming of silverware, and they won’t leave much to chance here. Al Ain could be in for a forgettable tournament. Prediction: Manchester City 4 Al Ain 0
Real Madrid vs Pachuca
(Sunday in Charlotte)
Real Madrid endured a shocker, drawing with Al-Hilal 1-1 in one of the worst performances in the recent history of the club (given the opponent, and the stage). Any club can have an off day, but a club with Real Madrid’s ambitions to be global champions, were embarrassed having the day they did. Xabi Alonso’s side had a disjointed attack against the Saudi superstar club, and failing to convert a late penalty kept them from securing 3 points in the opening match. Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dean Huijsen had mixed debuts for the team in white while 21 year old Gonzalo Garcia, who replaced Kylian Mbappe, scored RMA’s only goal.
On the bright side, Real did manage 7 shots on goal, and the penalty miss is not an expectation, but Al Hilal looked every bit their equals when it came to counterattacks, and this side looked well off of the best UEFA teams this tournament.
Pachuca must win this game in a monumental to get out of the group, their defeat to Red Bull Salzburg after a late Salzburg goal was a disappointment. That match was interrupted by bad weather. Salomón Rondón and Pachuca looked like the better side for much of that match, but they have nothing to show for it. Facing RMA is a step above RBS, and though Pachuca will be fearless, I believe they will suffer the vengeance and wrath of Real Madrid. In December 2024 we saw this matchup, as Real Madrid’s attacking trio scored 3 and blanked Pachuca 3-0 in the intercontinental cup.
Red Bull Salzburg vs Al-Hilal
(Sunday in Washington D.C.)
Red Bull Salzburg managing to get three points in the first game puts them in an ideal position to qualify for the knockout phase, Oscar Gloukh, and Karim Onisiwo were the goalscorers for the unheralded Austrian side. As for Al Hilal, the result against Real Madrid speaks for itself. They didn’t draw out of luck, they played hard for it, Ruben Neves converted a penalty, Yassine Bounou stood tall in goal, and Saudi star Salem Al-Dawsari had a solid game in what was a total team effort. Simone Inzaghi’s are fearless, and Salzburg are likely to slip up more than RMA defensively, I’ll back Al-Hilal to get the 3 points in this one and make the final game of the group stage a compelling one. Prediction: Al-Hilal 2 Red Bull Salzburg 1
Main Photo Credit: IMAGO / Depositphotos
