The field at the Club World Cup will whittle down from 32 to 16 over the course of the next week as group stage finales take place across the U.S., paving the way for the knockout stages that begin on Saturday.
As expected, the round of 16 is expected to mostly feature teams from Europe and South America, though that does not mean the tournament has not been full of surprises. South American teams have combined for just one loss so far at the Club World Cup, while Flamengo is one of only a handful of teams to book their spot in the next round with a game to spare after wins against Esperance de Tunis and Chelsea.
Meanwhile, Inter Miami are in a strong position to be the only team not from those continents to crack the last 16 thanks to their surprise 2-1 win over Porto. Most of the teams who are expected to reach the next round, though, have yet to actually clinch their spots, setting up for a dramatic final round of group stage fixtures.
Here are the scenarios in each group as the Club World Cup group stage comes to a close.
You can watch all of the matches on DAZN (try for free).
Club World Cup tiebreakers
- Group stage points
- Head-to-head in the games between the teams in question
- Goal difference in the games between the teams in question
- Goals scored in the games between the teams in question
- Overall group stage goal difference
- Overall group stage goals scored
- Disciplinary points (yellow and red cards)
- Drawing of lots
Group A scenarios
Palmeiras advance to the round of 16 with:
- Win or draw against Inter Miami
- Loss to Inter Miami AND Al Ahly win over Porto OR Porto win over Al Ahly AND Palmeiras beat Porto on goal difference
Inter Miami advance to the round of 16 with:
- Win or draw against Palmeiras
- Loss to Palmeiras AND Porto win over Al Ahly OR Inter Miami beat Al Ahly on goal difference
Porto advance to the round of 16 with:
- Win against Al Ahly AND Palmeira’s loss to Inter Miami AND Porto beat Palmeiras on goal difference
Al Ahly advance to the round of 16 with:
- Win against Porto AND Inter Miami loss to Palmeiras AND Al Ahly beat Inter Miami on goal difference
Group B scenarios
Botafogo advance to the round of 16 with:
- Win or draw against Atletico Madrid
- Loss to Atletico Madrid AND Paris Saint-Germain loss to Seattle Sounders
Paris Saint-Germain advance to the round of 16 with:
- Win against Seattle Sounders
- Draw against Seattle Sounders AND Botafogo win or draw against Atletico Madrid
- Loss to Seattle Sounders AND Botafogo win against Atletico Madrid AND tiebreakers favor Paris Saint-Germain
Atletico Madrid advance to the round of 16 with:
- Win against Botafogo AND Paris Saint-Germain draw or loss against Seattle Sounders
- Draw against Botafogo AND Paris Saint-Germain loss to Seattle Sounders
Seattle Sounders advance to the round of 16 with:
- Win against Pairs Saint-Germain by three-plus goals AND Atletico Madrid loss to Botafogo
Group C scenarios
Bayern Munich: Qualified for the round of 16
Benfica advance to the round of 16 with:
- Win or draw against Bayern Munich
- Loss to Bayern Munich AND Boca Juniors draw or loss to Auckland City
Boca Juniors advance to the round of 16 with:
- Win against Auckland City AND Benfica loss to Bayern Munich AND Boca Juniors beat Benfica on goal difference
Auckland City: Eliminated from the competition
Group D scenarios
Flamengo: Qualified for the round of 16
Chelsea advance to the round of 16 with:
- Win or draw against Esperance de Tunis
Esperance de Tunis advance to the round of 16 with:
LAFC: Eliminated from the competition
Group E scenarios
River Plate advance to the round of 16 with:
- Win against Inter
- Draw against Inter AND Monterrey draw or loss to Urawa Red Diamonds
Inter advance to the round of 16 with:
- Win or draw against River Plate
- Loss to River Plate AND Monterrey draw or loss to Urawa Red Diamonds
Monterrey advance to the round of 16 with:
- Win against Urawa Red Diamonds AND River Plate loss to Inter OR Inter loss to River Plate OR goalless draw between River Plate and Inter
Urawa Red Diamonds: Eliminated from the competition
Group F scenarios
Fluminense advance to the round of 16 with:
- Win or draw against Mamelodi Sundowns
- Loss to Mamelodi Sundowns AND Borussia Dortmund loss to Ulsan HD by same or larger margin as Fluminense’s loss
Borussia Dortmund advance to the round of 16 with:
- Win or draw against Ulsan HD
- Loss to Ulsan HD AND Fluminense win or draw against Mamelodi Sundowns
Mamelodi Sundowns advance to the round of 16 with:
- Win against Fluminense AND Borussia Dortmund loss to Ulsan HD
Ulsan HD: Eliminated from the competition
Group G scenarios
Juventus: Qualified for round of 16
Manchester City: Qualified for round of 16
Wydad Casablanca: Eliminated from the competition
Al-Ain: Eliminated from the competition
Group H scenarios
Real Madrid advance to the round of 16 with:
- Win or draw against RB Salzburg
- Loss to RB Salzburg AND Al-Hilal draw or loss to Pachuca
RB Salzburg advance to the round of 16 with:
- Win or draw against Real Madrid
- Loss to Real Madrid AND Al-Hilal loss to Pachuca
Al-Hilal advance to the round of 16 with:
- Win against Pachuca AND Real Madrid loss to RB Salzburg OR RB Salzburg loss to Real Madrid
Pachuca: Eliminated from the competition
