The 2025 Club World Cup group stage is nearing its conclusion, and several teams have already booked their tickets for the next round.
Palmeiras and Inter Miami are in after topping Group A. PSG and Botafogo have also qualified after topping Group B, with the latter advancing only by a whisker. On the other hand, Bayern Munich, Flamengo, Juventus, and Manchester City are likely to join them after accumulating six points in the opening two matches before the final matchday this week. Groups C, D, E, F, G, and H will wrap up their group stage matches in the next few days.
While many have had qualms about this year’s Club World Cup due to the reported poor pitches and major mismatches among the teams, it has been generally successful so far because football fans received their share of Club World Cup 2025 highlights.
Read more below, as SBOTOP lists some of the standout performers in the group stage.
Michael Olise, Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich are through to the knockout stage following their victories over Auckland City and Boca Juniors, and Michael Olise is a huge reason why. The former Crystal Palace winger picked up where he left off after guiding Die Bayern back to the top of the Bundesliga by plundering three goals and two assists in the Club World Cup.
Olise was named Man of the Match in Bayern Munich’s 10-0 shellacking of Auckland City on the first day, as he had two goals and two assists. The 23-year-old winger terrorized Auckland City’s defenders with his speed and ball handling and only needed 46 minutes to do so before leaving the match for good.
He followed it up with another superb performance against Boca Juniors last Saturday, guiding Bayern Munich to a 2-1 win. No one could stop Olise one-on-one on the wings, and he scored the matchwinner during the 84th minute.
With fellow youngster Jamal Musiala (also with three goals) listed as questionable to play against Benfica, don’t be surprised if Olise takes center stage once more. He and Kingsley Coman should continue to give their opponents fits on the defensive end, with Harry Kane and Serge Gnabry adding to their immense firepower.
Kenan Yildiz, Juventus
Juventus are off to a brisk start in the 2025 Club World Cup, as they demolished Al-Ain and Wydad via a whopping aggregate tally of 9-1, with Yildiz being one of the club’s main protagonists.
The 20-year-old has excelled in the left-sided attacking midfielder role under head coach Igor Tudor. Yildiz is the Bianconeri’s top scorer of the tournament with three goals, which could’ve been four if the first goal against Wydad wasn’t ruled an own goal by Abdelmounaim Boutouil. He scored once in the team’s 5-0 rout of Al-Ain before notching a brace against Wydad (4-1) yesterday. His right-foot volley against Wydad is easily one of the best goals of the tournament so far.
With his progress in the past few years, Yildiz has become one of the hottest commodities in the transfer market. The Turkish international has been linked with Premier League sides Arsenal and Chelsea, though he said he’s content with staying at Juventus.
Juventus haven’t faced their biggest test in the group stage just yet. They will take on Manchester City in the final match this Thursday evening at the Camping World Stadium, and it’ll be interesting to see how Yildiz fares against them.
Ilkay Gundogan, Manchester City
Ilkay Gundogan reminded us about his uncanny ability to show up in big games, as he is the surprise leading scorer for Manchester City in this year’s Club World Cup. The 34-year-old has two goals, with both coming from their 6-0 whacking against Al-Ain.
Gundogan came off the bench in the first match against Wydad and played on the left wing against Al-Ain, a new role for him. The German international said he plans to play out the final year of his contract with the Sky Blues, and doing well in the Club World Cup (and next season) could earn him another solid payday.
Wesley Franca, Flamengo
Wesley Franca could be up for a move to the Premier League after he boosted his stock recently. The 21-year-old full-back is a huge reason why Flamengo defied the Club World Cup 2025 odds and are through to the knockout stage.
Franca was particularly spectacular against Chelsea, so much so that the Blues are considering recruiting him this summer (alongside Arsenal and Brighton). The Brazilian won all four of his tackles, eight out of 11 duels, was not dribbled past, and completed 42 out of 46 passes.
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