The 2025 European football season is drawing to a close, with just a handful of games remaining before the campaign-ending UEFA Champions League final between Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan. At the culmination of that showdown in Munich, all eyes will be on this summer’s FIFA Club World Cup, a tournament that has been revolutionized from its previous incarnation.
The Club World Cup’s New Look
Before, the winners of the planet’s continental tournaments would meet in a series of one-off knockout games to determine a winner, with the final usually being between the European and South American representatives. This summer, though, the tournament will replicate its international counterpart, with an initial phase consisting of eight groups of four, followed by a knockout round from the last 16 onwards.
Some huge names will be heading to the United States in June and July in a bid to be crowned world champions, and sports betting sites are already speculating as to who that could be. The latest odds from popular online sports betting sites currently list heavyweights Real Madrid and Manchester City as the +450 joint favorites, with German champions Bayern Munich narrowly behind them.
But the action will kick off with Group A, and that is where we have turned our focus today. Here are our Club World Cup Group A predictions and tips.
Inter Miami to Win the Opening Game
Inter Miami are currently the hosting United States’ sole representative at the tournament. Los Angeles FC could well join them should they win their playoff against Mexican side Club America, but as it stands, the Floridians are the only Stateside outfit confirmed thus far. And due to that, we can see the David Beckham-owned franchise garnering plenty of local support.
Miami will raise the curtain on the tournament when they face Egyptian side Al Ahly at Hard Rock Stadium on June 14th. The MLS side is led by the mercurial Lionel Messi, and with the greatest player of all time on their side, anything is possible.
He is joined on South Beach by fellow Barcelona stars Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets, and Jordi Alba, and despite the quartet’s advancing years, they are still a match for anybody on their day.
Inter have been in poor form recently, winning just one of their last seven games. That has seen them eliminated from the CONCACAF Champions Cup at the semifinals stage and fall in the MLS Eastern Conference standings. However, with a raucous fan base proving to be the 12th man, we can see them edging out Al Ahly and securing the victory, perhaps soaking up some pressure and surviving some scares in doing so.
Palmeiras To Win the Group
Europe has sent plenty of huge names to the Club World Cup this summer, but there are some other sides that have left us scratching our heads as to how they have actually qualified. FC Salzburg are no longer the dominant force in Austrian football and have only made it out of the group stages in the UEFA Champions League once in their entire history. Borussia Dortmund barely scraped a fifth-place finish in the Bundesliga this term as well.
Another team that will somehow be in the States is FC Porto, a team that finished a distant third in the Portuguese league this season. They will be in Group A alongside the aforementioned Inter Miami and Al Ahly, but it is Portuguese giants Palmeiras that we see being the beneficiaries of having a lower-ranked European side in their group. The São Paulo-based side are a +200 second favorite to top the group, somewhat behind the heavily favored Porto, but it’s them who we can see getting the job done.
Palmeiras have made a blistering start to the current Brazilian Serie A season, topping the league and losing just one of their opening nine games. The Verdão are led by former Barcelona striker Vitor Roque as well as experienced playmaker Raphael Veiga and former Orlando City star Facundo Torres. We can see them beating both Inter Miami and Al Ahly at a canter, as well as perhaps even knocking off Porto as well.
Winning two of those games should be enough to secure top spot in Group A, and as such, their odds of 2/1 to do exactly that are certainly enticing.
Inter Miami to Qualify
If Inter Miami do win their opening game as predicted earlier, then they are just one win away from a spot in the Round of 16. Even two draws should be enough. Admittedly, their second and third games are against the two big guns in their group, Palmeiras and Porto, but there’s no reason for the American side to be fearful.
Even at the ripe old age of 37, Lionel Messi still can unlock even the tightest of defences. While Luis Suarez may no longer have his devastating pace of old, he remains a lethal finisher who will find the back of the net if given the opportunity. Sergio Busquets remains a key playmaker from deep, and if Miami can shore up a somewhat leaky defence, they may well turn a few heads. They are currently priced as long as 3/1 to win the group, and while that could be a tough task, progressing from the group at even money could well be a good bet.