The quarterfinals of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup will be set by Tuesday with Manchester City and Real Madrid among the teams still vying for the title. Here is your look at Monday and Tuesday’s Matches and a brief recap of what happened over the weekend.
Bayern Munich, Chelsea and PSG secure quarterfinal berths
The weekend matches at the Club World Cup went true to expectations as Europe’s big star sides all advanced. PSG put Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami to the sword, a 4-0 defeat where the UEFA Champions League winners were already out of sight by halftime. The headline story of Inter Miami advancing from their group was smashed in mere minutes, Joao Neves scored two goals, and Achraf Hakimi added the 4th and final goal before PSG comfortably played out the rest of the game. Messi himself didn’t perform badly, but the Inter Miami defense was exposed by a clinical European side.
The surprise packet of Flamengo suffered the same fate, Bayern Munich scored two goals in just 9 minutes and didn’t look back against the Brazilians. Jorginho converted a penalty and Gerson added the first goal for Flamengo, but Harry Kane is the one who would seal Flamengo’s fate, as he scored in the 73rd minute. Flamengo were in the match at times, but Bayern Munich were clincal when it mattered most, as a crowd of almost 61,000 watched Germany’s champions march on to the quarterfinals.
Brazilian hopes remain alive through Palmeiras, it took 100 minutes, but the team in green slipped past fellow Brazilian side Botafogo, as Paulinho converted a goal to send them over the top. A taste of Brazil in Philadelphia, it was the side from Sao Paulo that earned their millions. Both Estevao and Richard Rios performed well, and Botafogo struggled to create chances.
In Charlotte, Chelsea avoided a late collapse to roar past Benfica in extra time 4-1, Reece James scored the first goal, only for Angel Di Maria to come out in the final seconds of normal time to convert a penalty and keep Benfica in it. Christopher Nkunku, Pedro Neto, and Kieran Dewsbury-Hall added goals in the extra time, as Benfica was playing with 10 men for the most of that part of the game. Chelsea were the dominant side, and the Conference League winners will be favored over Palmeiras in the next round. While Bayern will look to dethrone PSG in Atlanta.
Inter Milan vs Fluminense (Monday in Charlotte)
Inter Milan topped their group and will be the favored side against the Brazilian club Fluminense. A draw with Monterrey was their only blemish as Inter scored second half goals against both Urawa Red Diamonds and River Plate in the group stages.
Fluminense’s 4 goal outburst against Ulsan HD was their only goal scoring in three group stage games. The team has talent, but the gap with Inter still looks evident, Fluminense will try to hold them back but that feels unlikely for 90 minutes. Fluminense needs an early goal to be competitive. Prediction: Inter Milan 3 Fluminense 1
Manchester City vs Al-Hilal (Monday in Orlando)
Manchester City coasted through the group stages, including a 5 goal outburst against Juventus, Al-Hilal managed a fantastic draw over Real Madrid, but only claimed victory in the group stages over a struggling Pachuca side. This Al-Hilal team are motivated, but holding off Manchester City for 90 minutes feels like a task they lack the skills to handle. Manchester City have pressed their advantage all tournament, and that should continue into the quarterfinals. Prediction: Manchester City 4 Al Hilal 1
Real Madrid vs Juventus (Tuesday in Miami)
Juventus are a tricky challenge for Real Madrid, the Italian side destroyed two weaker teams in the group stages and then got completely outplayed by Manchester City. Juve will be hoping to shake off bad mojo in this one, while Real Madrid continues to feel the weight of pressure. They drew with Al Hilal, struggling in the heat. Pachuca and RB Salzburg proved easier, but neither of those sides are on par with Juventus. You have put Real Madrid as the favorites, but an upset here wouldn’t be a surprise. I expect it will come down to the end. Prediction: Real Madrid 3 Juventus 2
Dortmund vs Monterrey Rayados (Tuesday in Atlanta)
Just two days after their 80th anniversary as a club, Monterrey Rayados are playing what is perhaps the biggest game in the history of the club. After previous defeats in this competition against Liverpool and Chelsea, the current pride of Mexico has another crack at a top European side. Rayados has tons of European experience going into this matchup, Sergio Ramos captains a team that comes off an emotional 4 goal demolition of Urawa Red Diamonds that saw them reach the knockout phase over storied Argentine side River Plate. Tecatito Corona (ex Porto), and Nelson Deossa, a rapidly rising Colombian star were among the goalscorers in that one. The new manager of Rayados Domenc Torrent has improved their defense, they soaked pressure against River Plate (0-0 draw), and after Ramos scored a header on Inter, they did the same in that game (1-1 draw).
With that said, Rayados are still an inconsistent side, and the same can be said of Dortmund. Dortmund’s campaign began with a listless draw against Fluminense, they conceded three against Mamelodi Sundowns (won 4-3), and the win over Ulsan HD was just a 1-0 margin to secure passage to this phase. While Dortmund are the favored and top side, if you’re going to see a European side get upset in the round of 16, this would be the matchup where it happens. Dortmund has not looked comfortable all tournament, if Rayados can soak pressure and find some goal luck, they can get this done, perhaps needing extra time or penalties. Prediction: Monterrey 2 Dortmund 1
Main Photo Credit IMAGO / PA Images
