Atletico Madrid Club World Cup preview

Atletico Madrid are in the United States this summer, with Diego Simeone’s side bidding for glory in an expanded FIFA Club World Cup. Los Rojiblancos are one of 12 European clubs taking part in the tournament, and our Atletico Madrid Club World Cup preview assesses their chances of going all the way.

According to the latest betting odds via the Fanatics Sportsbook promo, Atleti rank among the eight favourites to win the competition, suggesting they’ve got a strong chance of at least reaching the quarter-finals.

However, city rivals Real Madrid, group-stage opponents PSG and Premier League side Manchester City are viewed as the teams most likely to lift the trophy.

How did Atletico Madrid qualify for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup?

Atletico Madrid qualified for the Club World Cup by virtue of the UEFA club coefficient ranking system. Points were awarded over a four-year period (2021-2024), and helped by two Champions League quarter-final appearances over that timeframe, Atleti’s score was high enough to secure one of the allocated UEFA slots for the tournament.

They performed better over that period in European competitions than Barcelona who will not be at the Club World Cup, with Real Madrid the only other Spanish qualifiers.

Atletico Madrid’s Club World Cup history

This will be Atleti’s first appearance at the FIFA Club World Cup, although they did play in the 1974 Intercontinental Cup against Independiente of Argentina, winning a two-legged tie 2-1 on aggregate to lift the trophy.

They qualified for that competition having finished as runners-up in the 1973/74 European Cup. Champions Bayern Munich declined to participate, meaning Atleti stepped in and became the first winners of the competition to have never been crowned champions of their own continent.

Group stage opponents

PSG

Atleti’s chief rivals for top spot in Group B will likely be PSG who have just celebrated winning the Champions League for the first time after hammering Inter Milan 5-0 in the final. Coached by Luis Enrique, they’ll be on cloud nine following that, with the former Spain boss doing a fantastic job in terms of constructing a talented young team over the past two years.

While the likes of Vitinha, Nuno Mendes, Ousmane Dembele and Achraf Hakimi have stood out, PSG are very much a team in every sense of the word. The only doubt about them may be fatigue at the end of a long season, with their long-awaited European glory night not coming until the final day of May.

Seattle Sounders

MLS side Seattle Sounders will have home advantage at Lumen Field in all three of their group games, but they still rank as the outsiders to qualify from Group B which is certainly one of the toughest at the tournament.

Coached by their long-serving boss Brian Schmetzer, Sounders are currently sixth in the Western Conference of MLS in the 2025 season, but recently claimed continental glory by winning the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League. They are still skippered by their veteran keeper Stefan Frei, but have few genuinely big names in their squad.

Botafogo

Based in Rio de Janeiro, Botafogo will be hoping to upset one of the two European teams in their group and potentially send either PSG or Atletico Madrid packing before the knockout stage.

While that would be a shock, they should not be underestimated as the current champions of both Brazil and South America, after they defeated compatriots Atletico Mineiro in the 2024 final of the Copa Libertadores to cap a wonderful year. They’ve conceded just seven goals in 11 fixtures so far this term in the Brazilian Serie A.

Atletico Madrid Club World Cup fixtures

Group stage

Less than a year after the collapse of plans to take a LaLiga game to Miami, Atletico Madrid will play their first ever competitive game in the United States on June 15th 2025 when they take on PSG in the iconic Rose Bowl in California.

They then travel up the Pacific Coast to Seattle for their fixture with Sounders, before returning to the Rose Bowl for a potentially decisive final game against Botafogo. Their first and third group games will be early 12:00 kick-offs local time (21:00 in Madrid), while they’ll play Seattle at 15:00 local time (00:00 in the Spanish capital).

Potential knockout path

With the Club World Cup following the same format as recent 32-team editions of the World Cup, Atletico Madrid fans can plot their team’s potential path should they advance as one of the top two teams in Group B.

Opposition from Group A (Palmeiras, Inter Miami, Porto, Al Ahly) would await in the round-of-16 should they advance. With that group feeling like one of the most evenly-matched ones in the tournament and not featuring any of the outright favourites, it may not matter too much whether Atleti end up in first or second place.

That will change where they head next though, with the potential for two games in Atlanta if they win Group B, while they’d travel to Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia next were they to finish second.

The semi-finals and final will all take place at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Who will be in Diego Simeone’s squad?

The Atletico Madrid Club World Cup squad will essentially be the club’s regular senior squad, given there are no notable injuries currently for Simeone to deal with.

That picture is slightly more complicated given that the contracts of four players were due to expire midway through the tournament. So far, only Reinildo has agreed to a temporary extension that will see him available for the full competition.

Axel Witsel, Cesar Azpilicueta and Juan Musso have contracts that run out at the end of June, with the extent of their involvement in the United States less certain.