Worst European Teams Heading to the FIFA Club World Cup

After Inter Milan and Paris Saint-Germain bring the curtain down on the European football season by facing off in the UEFA Champions League final in Munich, all eyes will turn to this summer’s FIFA Club World Cup. Both of those two finalists will be heading to the United States to contest the tournament, as will other heavy hitters such as Real Madrid, Manchester City, and Bayern Munich.

And it is those giants that online gambling sites make the favorites for the trophy. The latest odds from the popular Bovada gambling site currently price the aforementioned Los Blancos as the +450 favorites to leave MetLife Stadium on July 13th with the title in tow. They are closely followed by Pep Guardiola’s Blues (+500) and the newly minted German champions from Bavaria (+600).

It’s clear to see why the bookies favor Real. While they haven’t had a stellar year by their standards, their pedigree is unmatched. They claimed their 15th Champions League title last season and rather than resting on their laurels, they added Kylian Mbappe to an already stacked roster. Trent Alexander-Arnold may well be wearing the famous royal white in time for their Club World Cup campaign getting underway, and it would be a surprise if Los Blancos didn’t make a deep tournament run.

Real Madrid are the Champions League winners for a 15th time! 🏆#UCLFinal https://t.co/LSxtiVV4GL pic.twitter.com/YgYKIxwuP4

— Bovada (@BovadaOfficial) June 1, 2024

While many of their usual European sparring partners will join them in the Land of the Free this summer, some of UEFA’s representatives heading to the States have left us scratching our heads. Here are the worst of them.

FC Salzburg

Red Bull Salzburg – or FC Salzburg as they will be known this summer – have long been considered the dominant force in Austrian football. They won the Bundesliga ten seasons in a row between 2014 and 2023, and were somewhat untouchable, producing a conveyor belt of talent while claiming plenty of silverware. However, over the last two years, their stranglehold has been drastically loosened.

The Red Bulls were stunningly upset by Sturm Graz in last season’s title race, losing out by just two points. This season, the Die Schwoazn look poised to claim the title once again, while Salzburg has fallen even further behind. The former kingpins are way down in fourth place in the table, and it looks nigh on impossible for them to reclaim their throne.

Even when Salzburg were in their pomp, they struggled to make an impression on the continental stage. They made it out of the Champions League group stages just once throughout their stint as Austrian champions, while they only made it past the Europa League Round of 32 twice.

Even so, Salzburg are somehow at the Champions League World Cup this summer. They have qualified as the ninth-best ranked eligible team in the UEFA four-year ranking and are basically the lowest-ranked European team that will feature at the tournament. They have been drawn in a group alongside Real Madrid, Al Hilal, and Pachuca, and both the Saudi Arabians and the Mexicans will be aiming to progress as runners-up to Los Blancos at Salzburg’s expense.

FC Porto

While both Atletico Madrid and Juventus are ranked lower in UEFA’s eyes, Portuguese outfit FC Porto also won’t believe their luck that they are headed to America this summer. The Dragons certainly have plenty of pedigree, but they too, have fallen off in recent years. Two decades ago, Jose Mourinho was leading the team to both Europa League and Champions League glory on a shoestring budget. A decade on from that, and Andre Villas-Boas led them to continental glory once again.

However, in recent times, Porto have become a distant third-best in the Liga Portugal. This season, they were in exactly that position, and they never really looked like entering the title race despite eventual champions Sporting CP going through three separate managers throughout the course of the season. The Dragons ultimately finished 11 points adrift of their Lisbon rivals, and their continental campaign didn’t go much better as they lost in the Europa League first knockout round to AS Roma.

The Portuguese outfit has been drawn into Group A at the upcoming Club World Cup alongside Palmeiras, Inter Miami, and Al Ahly. Despite being favorites to top the group, they will have their work cut out, especially if they lose their opening game to the high-flying Palmeiras.

Benfica

Portugal will have another representative at the Club World Cup this summer in the form of Benfica. While they were able to take the title fight to cross-city rivals Sporting, they ultimately lost out. They, too, are hardly considered world-beaters.

37-year-old veteran winger Angel Di Maria is their talisman, but it remains to be seen whether he has enough left in the tank to lead his side to a deep tournament run. In the form of central defenders António Silva and Tomás Araújo, they certainly have a staunch backline, but with a group stage clash against Bayern Munich and a potential round of 16 game against Chelsea on the horizon, they will need it.