Updated Club World Cup power rankings: Knockout stage teams re-ranked, and a favorite reemerges

The 2025 Club World Cup has reached its midway point. With two weeks gone, half of the 32 teams are gone; the other half are preparing for the knockout stages, which begin Saturday.

And after some early upsets, order has (mostly) been restored. Eleven of the top 12 teams in our pre-tournament power rankings have reached the Round of 16. Thirteen of the 16 are from Europe or Brazil. The favorites to win the Club World Cup on June 14, when it kicked off, are largely still the favorites now.

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But there has been some shuffling. Some European teams look disinterested or exhausted. Some challengers from other continents have risen.

Below is our re-ranking of the 16 teams remaining after the group stage. (Pre-tournament ranks are in parentheses.)

1. Manchester City (4)

Sure, Man City’s group-stage opponents weren’t exactly world-beaters. And sure, the flaws that haunted Pep Guardiola throughout the 2024-25 season could soon reappear. But, having spent over $400 million on new signings this calendar year, the club that ruled England for the better part of a decade is rolling once again. As if to flaunt his wealth, Guardiola played two entirely different starting 11s against Wydad and Al Ain. A mixture of the two then ripped apart Juventus, and looked like a reborn juggernaut.

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The Cityzens, remember, were the betting favorites when this competition first took shape a year ago. After 10 rocky months, they’re back.

2. PSG (1)

After 90 minutes out west, the European champions looked like they’d roll to their fourth title of 2025. After 270, they look … a bit stuck? Perhaps dry pitches played a role. Or, perhaps, there was an emotional ebb after that flying 4-0 win over Atlético Madrid on opening weekend. Either way, an aggregate scoreline of 2-1 against Botafogo and the Seattle Sounders is a bit ominous. It’s tough to tell whether the Parisians will be able to refind their Champions League form in the knockout rounds.

3. Real Madrid (2)

Unsurprisingly, a few new faces and so little training time, the Xabi Alonso era got off to a tepid start. But even by their third game, The whites seemed to have found a bit of a rhythm. Jude Bellingham is locked in. Kylian Mbappé is still absent, having been hospitalized with an illness early in the group stage, but if he can return to fitness and form, Real Madrid can continue to grow into this tournament — and win it.

4. Bavaria Munich (3)

The Bavarians were awesome — sharp, composed, organized, incisive — against Boca Juniors. They were mostly unlucky against Benfica. Even setting aside their 10-0 stomping of poor Auckland City, and even though their dominance of Benfica didn’t yield a goal, they were one of the most impressive teams throughout the group stage. Michael Olise is class personified.

5. Flamengo (12)

Perhaps we’re overreacting to one game — a 3-1 win over Chelsea on Matchday 2. But nobody else has stepped up to challenge the top four, so … why not Flamengo? Brazil’s biggest club has been as advertised. It has the talent and the drive to make a deep run. It has the most boisterous fan backing of any club remaining.

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Unfortunately, despite winning its group, its knockout-round path appears to go through all four of Bayern, PSG, Real Madrid and Man City.

6. Chelsea (6)

The Blues recovered from their Flamengo wounds, took care of business against Espérance Tunis, and stumbled into a blessing. Thanks to upsets in Groups B and D, rather than face Bayern and PSG in the first two knockout rounds, they’ll get Benfica, then either Palmeiras or Botafogo. And they certainly have enough attacking firepower to make the most of their luck.

7. Palmeiras (11)

To be frank, Palmeiras haven’t played flowing football. They didn’t exactly sprint to the top of Group A. But they have a wise manager, Abel Ferreira; and excellent depth, as evidenced by their comeback against Inter Miami. They have “two or even three options per position, at a very high level,” Miami coach Javier Mascherano said. They’re a semifinal threat.

8. Inter Milan (5)

The Nerazzurri have looked old and not quite fully invested in the Club World Cup. Or maybe they’re just dragging, physically and mentally, after their 2024-25 season ended in such a brutal combination of humiliation and heartbreak. Of course, they still plodded to the top of Group E, and now they have a favorable Round of 16 matchup. But we’d be surprised to see them in the semis.

9. Juventus (9)

There’s little shame in getting shredded by Man City — especially when you’ve done the shredding yourself in your first two games, albeit against Al Ain and Wydad. But Juventus is still, clearly, a work in progress under Igor Tudor. A 2025-26 Serie A title challenge is a possibility, but a Club World Cup title? Nah, probably not.

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10. Benfica (10)

What a weird group stage. Benfica fell two goals behind to a bad Boca Juniors team, then sparked into life and salvaged a draw (via a dubious penalty and set piece). Next came a stagnant first half against Auckland City, followed by a weather delay, followed by … a five-goal second-half outburst. And finally, a 1-0 win over Bayern Munich?

Sure.

We have no clue what to make of this team entering a Round of 16 matchup with Chelsea.

11. Al Hilal (14)

Saudi Arabia’s lone representative was extremely impressive against Real Madrid, then sufficiently impressive against Salzburg and Pachuca. Its squad is top-heavy, and some stars aren’t fully fit, so there’s a chance the wear and tear (and heat) of this tournament take their toll in the Round of 16. There’s also a chance Manchester CIty is just too dang powerful. But Al Hilal won’t be a pushover.

12. Borussia Dortmund (7)

They’ve complained about pitches and heat. They had their subs watch one first half from their locker room. They got outshot — by a 2:1 ratio, twice! — and out-xG’d by Fluminense and Mamelodi Sundowns.

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Somehow, they still bumbled their way to the top of Group F. But they never once played like title contenders.

13. Botafogo (18)

Although they became the first darlings of the tournament with a 1-0 upset of PSG, the reigning champs of Brazil and South America have struggled in 2025. And in some sense, the Club World Cup has been no exception. Their cumulative Expected Goal differential (xGD) — 1.9 xG for, 6.5 xGA — was the worst of any team that advanced.

On a positive note, however, they owned their Round of 16 opponent, Palmeiras, in 2024. Botafogo ousted The summer from the Copa Libertadores, and won both meetings in the Brasileirão. (Their first league meeting of 2025, on opening weekend, ended 0-0.)

14. Monterrey (16)

Well, after a telenovela-like buildup to the Club World Cup, Rayados were … quite businesslike in Group E. They neutralized Inter and River, then stormed past Urawa Reds, to a winnable Round of 16 matchup with Dortmund. (And don’t you dare underestimate Sergio Ramos in a knockout tournament!)

15. Inter Miami (21)

Miami played some of its best soccer of the calendar year in a win over Porto and a draw with Palmeiras. It “managed” both games, as Lionel Messi and others said, far better than it usually does. Homegrown players held their own. Messi and Luis Suarez did their thing. “We showed that we can hang,” defender Noah Allen said, “when people didn’t believe in us.”

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But can they hang with PSG? Uh, that’s another story.

16. Fluminense (22)

Fluminense surprised some folks when it outplayed Dortmund. Subsequent games have suggested that was less about Flu, more about Dortmund. The Brazilian side is probably capable of slowing down Inter Milan in the Round of 16, but anything beyond an ugly win and an uneventful quarterfinal exit would be stunning.