Trader's Insight: FIFA Club World Cup 2025 Group F Preview & Tips

Another disappointing season on paper for Dortmund with a fourth placed finish in the Bundesliga and a quarter-final elimination in the Champions League. However, I believe there are real grounds for optimism here and make them my dark horses for the whole tournament. After dismissing Edin Terzic at the end of the 2023/24 season, CEO Lars Ricken replaced him with former fan favourite Nuri Sahin after a promising spell in Turkey with Antalyaspor.

After a decent start to the season, things began to unravel and the former midfield stalwart was sacked in late January after four defeats in a row. Niko Kovac looked an uninspiring replacement but he has been something of a revelation after a slightly wobbly start, taking Die Schwarzgelben from 11th to 4th to secure Champions League football next season and overseeing a six game winning streak at the end of the season which included wins over Barcelona and Leverkusen and an away draw against Bayern.

Serhou Guirassy scored 12 in 13 in the league and 4 in 6 in the Champions League after Kovac’s arrival and will be the main source of goals here. He still managed to underperform his ExPG by four goals as well which shows how prolific the Guinean man can be and he is a real each way threat in the top scorer market here.

Julian Brandt will look to provide the ammunition from attacking midfield and Nordic duo Daniel Svensson and Julian Ryerson are very forward-thinking wing backs. Guirassy will take the penalties as long as he is on the field. With a kind looking group and last 16 draw, I fancy Dortmund to at least make it to the quarter final stage here.

Fluminense qualify for the tournament after their success in the Copa Libertadores in 2023 after beating Boca Juniors in the Maracana in the final. Much has changed since then however with four managers coming and going and several of the squad from that day moving on. Renato Portaluppi has taken over this season for his sixth spell at the club and is in charge of an ageing side who are below the level of the other Brazilian teams in the competition.

Results so far this season have been slightly encouraging although they have had a soft fixture list so far and I cannot see them progressing any farther than the last 16. That said, they have a very soft group and will be favourites for their matches against Mamelodi Sundowns and Ulsan HD. The main attacking threat will be supplied by the mercurial Jhon Arias.

The Colombian winger scored seven in 26 starts and supplied three assists in the league last season and is one of the true quality players here who is in his prime years. Another Colombian in Kevin Serna should start on the opposite wing and they will both try and supply the service for one of the veteran strikers of Everaldo or German Cano.

Very difficult to get a handle on whereabouts Mamelodi Sundowns should rate in comparison to Fluminense but they have some decent form in the book against Ah Ahly whom they beat over two legs via an away goal in the semi-final of the CAF Champions League in April before losing to Pyramids in the final. Their starting eleven is comprised almost solely of South African internationals and augmented with some talented South Americans.

Brazilian Lucas Ribeiro Costa will lead the line alongside Iqraam Rayners but the Sundowns’ success is built on their outstanding defence. They scooped a fourth domestic title in a row, winning 24 games out of 28 and conceding a ludicrous 13 goals with a back 4 and goalkeeper comprised of South African internationals.

The South African international team is enjoying a purple patch of it’s own at the moment as they are unbeaten since the 2023 AFCON semi-final against Nigeria which they only lost on penalties. All of this evidence points towards Mamelodi being a very tough team to break down and I expect them to go well and could easily make a charge for qualification from one of the weaker groups.

Another team it is potentially tricky to get a handle on, Ulsan HD qualified for the Club World Cup after reaching the semi finals of the AFC Champions League in 2023/24. However, there has been a high turnover of players since they won the K-League last season and they currently sit six points behind leaders Jeonbuk in third place.

This points towards a downturn in quality after losing so many of the first team in the close season and I suspect Mamelodi Sundowns will go off as favourites in the first game. Their main man up front is Brazilian Erick Farias who has scored 8 in 10 starts in the league but I really want to highlight new signing Milos Trojak.

The Polish giant joined midseason and is yet to play a competitive match for the South Koreans but scored in a warm-up match against Charlotte and will be a real threat from set pieces and will be worth a look in the goalscorer markets.

One of the weakest looking groups on paper, it will be a huge surprise if Dortmund don’t end up topping the group to give themselves an easy looking last 16 match.

The battle for second place will be fascinating but I will plump for Mamelodi Sundowns to pull something of a surprise here and beat Fluminense into second place. They have a very settled squad and will be a very tough prospect for the rest of the teams in Group F.

• Tuesday, June 17 - Fluminese vs Borussia Dortmund (17:00 BST)
• Tuesday, June 17 - Ulsan vs Mamelodi Sundowns (23:00 BST)
• Saturday, June 21 - Mamelodi Sundowns vs Borussia Dortmund (17:00 BST)
• Saturday, June 21 - Fluminese vs Ulsan (23:00 BST)
• Wednesday, June 25 - Borussia Dortmund vs Ulsan (20:00 BST)
• Wednesday, June 25 - Mamelodi Sundowns vs Fluminese (20:00 BST)
  

Ladbrokes has an article looking at the group stage games to watch at the Club World Cup. As well as that, we've also posted an extensive Club World Cup schedule guide, for fans who don't miss out on a single minute of action in America.

As noted, there are a lot of questions surrounding this summer's tournaments, some fans still wondering why Liverpool aren't in the tournament but Chelsea are, for example.

So, Ladbrokes has an 'Answering all your questions on the Club World Cup 2025' piece for fans who still don't feel they know all they need to about the revamped FIFA competition.

So, now you have all the information to ensure you don't miss a single match at this year's Club World Cup - and with our detailed tournament preview and betting guide, you won't miss a tip either.

View the latest Club World Cup odds.

All odds and markets are correct as of the date of publication.