MLS Sides Looking to Make a Statement on Home Soil at Club World Cup

As the 24/25 off-season begins in Europe, many of Europe’s elite prepare for 25/26 with a trip Stateside for the first ever summer edition of the FIFA Club World Cup. This tournament is not just massive in terms of for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in USA, Canada and Mexico but also a massive for Major League Soccer as Inter Miami, Seattle Sounders and Los Angeles FC become the first sides from the league to play competitively against European opposition.

So what should we expect from each of the three teams and how important is the FIFA Club World Cup for Major League Soccer making that next big stride towards the top leagues in world football?

How did each MLS team qualify for the FIFA Club World Cup?

Though this will be the first time that any team from the USA has made it to the Club World Cup proper, in the 2022 edition, Seattle Sounders were knocked out in the second round by Egyptian side, Al Ahly.

The Sounders made it to the tournament by winning the CONCACAF Champions Cup all the way back in 2022, beating Mexican side Pumas 5-2 on aggregate. It was the first Champions Cup in their history and also the first to be won by a team from the United States since the LA Galaxy in 2000.

2022 MLS Cup Champions, LAFC, have had quite a successful tenure since the establishment of the franchise back in 2014. Since they first played ball in the 18/19 season, they have gone on to win two Supporters Shields, one in that inaugural season and the other in 21/22 when they won MLS Cup. In 2024, LAFC also won the US Open Cup for the first time.

The Black and Gold qualified for their first ever CWC only a few weeks ago, coming out victorious in extra time by 2 goals to 1 over Mexican side Club America in the FIFA Club World Cup play-in match that took place due to Club Leon’s disqualification from the competition due to ownership rules.

Since David Beckham-owned Inter Miami established their franchise back in 2018, they’ve gone on to become the poster boys of Major League Soccer thanks to having the greatest player of all time, Lionel Messi, on their roster.

Since their debut season in 20/21, Miami won the first ever Leagues Cup tournament back in 2023 and last season secured their first ever Supporters Shield in record breaking fashion, eclipsing the regular season points total.

Miami qualified for their first ever FIFA Club World Cup thanks to winning that Shield, however it seemed a controversial choice from FIFA seeing that LA Galaxy went on to win MLS Cup.

Group Opponents and Analysis

Group A - Inter Miami

June 14th - Al Ahly FC - Hard Rock Stadium (Miami)

The largest club with Egypt in terms of fanbase and silverware, Al Ahly qualified for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup having won the CAF Champions League on multiple occasions.

The club have claimed 43 Egyptian League titles, 39 Egyptian Cup trophies and 12 CAF Champions League titles.

Al Ahly were named CAF Club of the 20th Century and have participated in the FIFA Club World Cup nine times, taking the bronze medal on four occasions.

They can be flexible in terms of formation setup as shown in their last three league games which have all resulted in victories, using a 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-2-1 on separate occasions.

The Reds only suffered a singular defeat all season.

June 19th - FC Porto - Mercedes Benz Stadium (Atlanta)

Without doubt the toughest test Inter Miami will face in Group A at the Club World Cup. Two time European cup winners, FC Porto endured a tough season in Portugal finishing third and getting knocked out in the play off round to Olympiacos in the Europa League.

However, despite the tough season, the Dragões will be the favourites to top Group A and will hope that the young talents they have, particularly in attack with 18 year old Portuguese winger, Rodrigo Mora and their top scorer and young Spaniard, Samu Agheova.

Porto like to use a 4-2-3-1 but have also used a 3-4-2-1 for a good amount of games this season. Alongside the young stars they will have in attack, their goalkeeper Diogo Costa will need to be on top form especially heading into the potential of knockout football.

If Porto have a game that goes to penalties then Costa has proven he can be the man with two key performances in shootouts for Portugal, first against Slovenia in the last 16 of UEFA Euro 2024 then recently in the UEFA Nations League Final.

June 23rd - Palmeiras - Hard Rock Stadium (Miami)

Three time CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores winners Palmeiras will believe that they have a real chance of making it out of the group.

The Brazilian side have had some real icons on their roster over the years including Ze Roberto, Rivaldo, Lucio and Cafu while recently having produced Fabinho, Gabriel Jesus and Endrick.

The next one off the development train is young winger Estevao Willian. The Brazilian is due to join Chelsea at the end of the tournament but at only aged 18 has made five appearances for his country.

Having finished with 21 goals contributions in Brazil’s Serie A last season, this is his chance to show himself off to Europe’s elite before heading to the best league in the world in the Premier League. Like their opponents in the group, they like to use the 4-2-3-1 formation.

Group B - Seattle Sounders (all games to be played at their home, Lumen field in Seattle)

June 15th - Botafogo

Botafogo’s story is one of rise and success all the way from the brink of losing it all before rising back to those former glories. The Brazilian side were dominant in their league during the 1980s particularly. However, administration issues during the 2000s meant that they fell away from dominance and even to the second division of Brazil.

However they have managed to get back to their former glory winning the Serie A and Libertadores in 2024 (which is how they qualified).

Two notable strengths they have made in attack are the signings of Joaquin Correa on a free from Champions League runners up Inter Milan and former Benfica and Fiorentina striker Arthur Cabral for £12 million.

This poses a large threat for the Sounders who have conceded three goals in their last two MLS games against Champions Cup finalists Vancouver Whitecaps and Minnesota United.

June 19th - Atletico Madrid

Out of all three of the MLS teams in the tournament, Seattle have by far the toughest set of group fixtures and their first test against European opposition comes from no other than Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid.

Atletico finished third in La Liga this season, although they were in the title hunt up till around March/April time when they fell away. Atleti qualified as a result of their coefficient over the past five years.

The threats come from all around the pitch, looking at attack of Alexander Sorloth, Antoine Griezmann and Julian Alvarez , the trio have 58 g/a between them this season and when you factor in that Seattle tend to concede at least once in the MLS, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Atletico scored at least three or four goals in this fixture.

June 23: Paris Saint-Germain

The toughest test for Seattle at the Club World Cup in the treble winners and UEFA Champions League winners PSG.

The French side qualified for this edition through coefficient but have qualified for the 2029 edition after finally breaking their Champions League curse and winning the final.

152 goals in 58 games this season means that PSG were scoring at a rate of 2.52 goals a game. The main threats? How about pretty much the whole team.

They have seven players that got over 10 g/a in Ligue 1 alone. The midfield they have of Neves, Vitinha and Fabian Ruiz is the best in Europe so Sounders midfielder Cristian Roldan, who’s known for his non stop running as a 6 in the MLS.

In truth, the Sounders will need something close to a miracle to get out of this group.

Group D - LAFC

June 16th - Chelsea (Mercedes Benz Stadium - Atlanta)

LAFC’s first game at the CWC will be against 2021 UCL winners Chelsea. The Blues since that win in Porto have endured a tough period from Roman Abramovich having to sell the club due to the Russia-Ukraine war to having to spent consecutive seasons outside Europe’s elite competition for the first time since the 2000s.

They’ve strengthened their squad since getting back into the Champions League with the signing of young English striker Liam Delap as well as some youngsters like Andrey Santos returning from loan.

LAFC’s best chance to get something out this game will be on the counter attack, though it should be quite comfortable for Chelsea in truth.

20th June - Esperance (Gedois Park - Nashville)

In order to try and get out of the group, this is LAFC’s best chance of getting a win against Tunisian side Esperance.

The champions of Tunisia qualified by winning the CAF Champions League and secured a domestic treble this season; Yan Sasse was the top scorer with 10 goals.

June 25 - Flamengo (Camping World Stadium - Orlando, Florida)

Brazilian side Flamengo is the final test in Group D for the Black and Gold stripes.

Currently top of the Brazilian Serie A, they strengthen their squad with the signings of three Brazilians in Danilo, Jorginho and Alex Sandro.

They are managed by former Brazil fullback, Filipe Luis who won the 2015 Premier League with Chelsea among other major trophies. This will be quite a tough test for LAFC which if they can get through, they get a good chance of making it to the knockouts.

MLS Expectations

As mentioned before, LAFC have the best chance in terms of opponents of making it out of their group. The main aim for these teams is to try to give themselves a chance going into the final game.

If multiple teams from the USA make the knockouts then the boost that it will have for Major League Soccer’s reputation would be massive.