NFL
By Keith Richards
We’re back at it! It’s only five days now until the opening match of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup! We continue our FIFA CWC preview with Group F. In Group F, we have our fourth Brazilian club, the Bundesliga makes another appearance, and a couple of clubs are looking to make a name on the worldwide stage. By the end of this preview, we will have reached 24 clubs covered. So, no worries if you don’t recognize some of these clubs! That’s what we’re here for!
As always, we will examine each club’s history, discuss how each currently performs in its respective domestic leagues, and pick which two teams will advance to the Knockout Stage. So, let’s get right to it!
Fluminense FC – Brazilian Série A
In Group F, we have the last team from the Brazilian Série A: Fluminense FC. As we stated, it’s the fourth team from the league, the most of any other league in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. While Fluminense’s name may not carry the same weight as Palmeiras or Flamengo, they are a proud Brazilian club. However, the CWC is an excellent opportunity for them to increase their stature worldwide.
In Brazilian Série A, Fluminense FC is in the middle of the pack regarding championship history. They’re tied for fifth with two other clubs, winning four Brazilian Série A titles in their club’s history. Furthermore, their title wins are sporadic, and they haven’t won since 2012. Fluminense won their first Brazilian Série A in 1970. The club wouldn’t win its championship until 1984. Their most consistent league success was winning the Brazilian Série A title in 2012 and 2012.
While Fluminense FC does not perform well in Brazilian Série A, they are a powerhouse in Campeonato Carioca. Carioca is the top division of the state football league of Rio de Janeiro. The league consists of the top 12 clubs in Rio de Janeiro, including Botafogo and Flamengo. Only Botafogo (39) has more league titles in Carioca than Fluminense.
Fluminense FC has won the Campeonato Carioca title 33 times, most recently in 2022 and 2023. Furthermore, only Flamengo (33) and Vasco da Gama (25) have been runners-up in Carioca more than Fluminense (24). Fluminense’s success in Copa Libertadores hasn’t been as great as in Campeonato Carioca. Fluminense FC qualified for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup via their 2023 Copa Libertadores title. Before then, they were only the runners-up once (2008).
Fluminense FC is arguably the second-best club in Group F, but the group is not swimming in worldwide powerhouses. IFFHS ranks Fluminense as the 57th-best club coming into the tournament. If we’re being honest, the league they play in is the best thing the club has going for now. Fluminense FC currently sits 5th on the Brazilian Série A table. They’re among the many teams that could benefit from a deep run at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.
Borussia Dortmund – Bundesliga (Germany)
In Germany’s Bundesliga, you have a giant in Bayern Munich. Behind them, several clubs are vying for that spot as the next best club. One of those clubs is Group F’s Borussia Dortmund. Despite being under the enormous shadow cast by Bayern Munich, Dortmund is still a proud club with a rich history.
Borussia’s first season in the Bundesliga was 1963-64. They’ve been in Germany’s top-flight division for 49 consecutive seasons (58 overall). Since the club was founded in 1909, Dortmund has been the German football champions eight times. Borussia Dortmund’s five Bundesliga titles are tied for fifth all-time with Borussia Mönchengladbach. Only one club has been a runner-up to the Bundesliga title more than Dortmund (9). We’ll give you two guesses about which club that is, but you’ll only need one. Yes, it’s Bayern Munich.
Additionally, Borussia Dortmund won three German championships before the Bundesliga. When combining German championships and Bundesliga titles, only two clubs have more German football championships than Dortmund: Bayern Munich (34) and 1. FC Nürnberg (9). While Dortmund has not won a Bundesliga title since the 2011-12 season, they have seen more recent success in domestic cups.
Germany’s two biggest domestic cups are the DFB-Pokal and DFL-Supercup. The DFB-Pokal consists of 64 teams from the German Football Association. The DFL-Supercup is a single match held between the DFB-Pokal and Bundesliga champions. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, only one club has seen more success in the DFB-Pokal and two in the DFL-Supercup.
You guessed it! Bayern Munich is one of the clubs from both competitions (20-time DFB-Pokal champions and 10-time DFL-Supercup champions). In the DFB-Pokal, Werder Bremen is the only other club with more titles (6). Borussia Dortmund has five DFB-Pokal titles and six DFL-Supercups. Their most recent titles in those competitions came in 2021 and 2019, respectively.
IFFHS ranks Borussia Dortmund as the 8th-best club coming into the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. By far, they’re the best club in Group F. After two consecutive second-place finishes in the Bundesliga in 21-22 and 22-23, Dortmund only managed a fifth-place finish in 23-24 and a fourth-place finish in 24-25. Dortmund shouldn’t only be the top club in Group F but also dominate.
Ulsan HD FC – K League 1 (South Korea)
Regarding South Korean football, there is a new budding powerhouse. They are Ulsan HD FC. Founded in 1983, Ulsan is a reasonably young club in terms of football. Ulsan HD would join K League 1 the following year in 1984. It has taken some time to have a true reign, but they’ve never been relegated in their 42 seasons in K League 1.
Ulsan won its first K League 1 title in 1996. Before then, they were the runners-up in the league twice. After the 1996 championship, Ulsan HD was runners-up in the league an additional three times before winning its second title in 2005. However, once again, Ulsan would continue to fill the role of bridesmaid several times before their next title.
In total, Ulsan HD has been runners-up in K League 1 10 times, twice as many times as any other club. After winning the title in 2005, they were runners-up in 2011, 2013, 2019, 2020, and 2021. Ulsan HD finally broke through in 2022. They won the K League 1 title in 2022 and haven’t looked back since. The club was also the K League 1 champion again in 2023 and 2024. However, their reign is in danger.
Ulsan is currently third on the K League 1 table with 29 points, six points behind first-place Jeon Hyundai Motors FC. Unfortunately for Ulsan HD, Jeonbuk has two matches in hand, so it will be tough for Ulsan to win a fourth consecutive title. Ulsan has seen some success domestically and internationally. Some of their most notable trophies include:
- One-time Korean FA Cup champions (2017) – Four-time runners-up
- Five-time Korean League Cup champions
- Two AFC Champions League titles (2012, 2020)
IFFHS ranks Ulsan HD as the 254th-best club coming into Group F of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. Simply put, K League 1 is not what you would call a powerhouse league worldwide. Furthermore, Ulsan’s performance in the now AFC Champions League Elite is not consistently stellar outside of their titles. Ulsan HD could make some noise worldwide by making it out of Group F.
Mamelodi Sundowns FC – Betway Premiership/Premier Soccer League (South Africa)
Coming into Group F, Mamelodi Sundowns FC is another big fish in a small pond. The Betway Premiership is only 29 years old. Furthermore, it only consists of 16 clubs. Still, it is the highest level of football in the South African soccer league system. The CAF does a top 20 league according to the IFFHS rankings, but that is not the Betway Premiership.
IFFHS ranks the Betway Premiership as the 62nd-best league in the world. It’s hard to hold that against the Sundowns. They cannot help where they play, and where they play is Betway. In the history of the Betway Premiership, seven clubs have won the title: Orlando Pirates (4), Kaizer Chiefs (4), SuperSport United (3), Manning Rangers, Santos, and Bidvest Wits.
If you keep count, that’s 14 of the 29 Betway Premiership titles between six clubs. I left out Mamelodi, the seventh club to win a PSL title. The Sundowns have won the Betway Premiership title 15 times. Thus, in the Premier Soccer League, Mamelodi Sundowns FC is king. To drive the point home, Bidvest Wits was the last club to win a Betway Premiership title. That was in the 2016-17 season. Mamelodi won the PSL title in the 2017-18 season and every season since.
While the Mamelodi Sundowns have succeeded in domestic and international cups, they are not as dominant in the PSL. The Sundowns have six Nedbank Cup titles (third-most all-time), with their most recent title coming in 2022. Mamelodi is also a four-time Carling Knockout Cup champion, the second-most all-time, with that most recent title coming in 2019. Finally, the Sundowns have a single CAF Champions League and CAF Super Cup title.
According to the IFFHS rankings, Mamelodi Sundowns FC is the 165th-best club in Group F. Their closest competition in the group is Ulsan HD FC. I don’t think the Sundowns will bother Dortmund or Fluminense much. However, stranger things have happened. Maybe they’ll shock the world and beat one of the two big clubs in Group F.
The Prediction
This is another short and sweet prediction: We’ll take Dortmund and Fluminense out of this group. It’s no disrespect to Ulsan and Mamelodi. As a football fan, I hope Ulsan or Mamelodi make it to the Knockout Stage. Everyone loves a Cinderella story. However, as betting odds go, we don’t see it happening.
Who do you think will make it out of the group? Let us know!
