Real Madrid, Salzburg and Al-Hilal Battle for Club World Cup Knockout Stage Tickets

Like several other groups in the 2025 Club World Cup, the competition among teams in Group H must be intense until the last match of the qualifying phase. Victory means everything for Real Madrid, RB Salzburg, and Al-Hilal, who are vying for two tickets to the knockout stage. Meanwhile, Pachuca no longer has a chance to advance to the next round.

To determine its fate, Real Madrid will play its final match against RB Salzburg at Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, United States, on Friday (27/6/2025) at 08:00. On the same day and time, Al-Hilal will also compete against Pachuca at Geodis Park, Nashville.

Although both must achieve victory, Al-Hilal's path is more challenging compared to Real Madrid and RB Salzburg. They must win under at least seven conditions. In addition to relying on the winning score, Al-Hilal will also depend on the outcome of the match between Real Madrid and RB Salzburg.

If they win against Pachuca by a margin of three goals or more, or by a margin of two goals greater than 3-1 (4-2, 5-3, and so on), for example, Al-Hilal will advance to the round of 16. However, they must also ensure that the match between Real and Salzburg ends in a 0-0 draw.

The calculations are closely related to Al-Hilal's position in the current standings of Group H, where they are ranked third. They have collected two points from their encounters with Real and Salzburg, which ended in draws.

Real leads with four points thanks to one victory and one draw, the same as Salzburg. Real is at the top of the standings due to a goal difference from Salzburg.

"We are not in the best position, but we believe until the end. It is not enough to just say that we are playing well; we also have to win," said Al-Hilal midfielder, Ruben Neves, to FIFA.

Neves also stated that in order to achieve victory, they must play more sharply. The reason is that, from other aspects, particularly defensively, they have already shown their best performance. The homework for Simone Inzaghi's team lies in the offensive aspect.

Neves reflected on the match against RB Salzburg, which ended in a goalless draw. The finishing has indeed become a crucial issue for Al-Hilal.

They actually created more chances with 18 shots compared to Salzburg's 15. Al-Hilal's expected goal (xG) was 1.49, while Salzburg's was 1.06. The xG value indicates that Al-Hilal had a greater expectation of scoring a goal than Salzburg.

"I believe our fate is in our own hands. We want to win the last match to qualify, but we must score goals to advance to the next round," said Al-Hilal defender, Kalidou Koulibaly."

The path for Real Madrid could actually be "easier" than that of Al-Hilal. Even with a draw or a loss, they still have a chance to advance to the knockout stage. However, their fate will heavily depend on Al-Hilal and Pachuca.

Real can still qualify if they draw 1-1, 2-2, and so on. If they draw without goals, they must hope that Al-Hilal does not defeat Pachuca by a margin of three goals or more, or by a margin of two goals while scoring at least four goals (4-2, 5-3, and so on).

Even if they lose to Salzburg, "Los Blancos" can still qualify. However, Xabi Alonso's team will depend on Pachuca to defeat or draw with Al-Hilal.

Thus, winning remains an inevitability for Real if they advance to the knockout phase without relying on the outcomes of other matches. Moreover, a victory would mean many things, including boosting the confidence of a team that has just found its comfortable play after defeating Pachuca 3-1.

The victory over Pachuca is a significant result for several reasons. Not only does it place Real at the top of Group H, but it also marks their first win in this new era under the management of Alonso, along with the squad's additions of players Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dean Huijsen.

Alonso was able to manage the situation that did not go smoothly when Raul Asencio received a red card just seven minutes after the match began. Alonso's decision to change the formation had a significant impact and provided more balance to a team that had to play with 10 men for over 80 minutes in temperatures around 33 degrees Celsius.

We have to try to get the three points to qualify as first. - Federico Valverde, Real Madrid -

Real did not display a perfect performance, as reflected in the statistics. They won possession with a ratio of 57 percent to 43 percent, but Pachuca made 25 attempts (11 on target) at the opponent's goal compared to eight attempts (three on target). Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was the busiest player with 10 saves.

However, that victory serves as a positive asset for Real, which aims to advance far in this Club World Cup. Moreover, their opponent, RB Salzburg, is not an easy team to conquer. Like Real and Al-Hilal, Salzburg also needs a victory to secure a ticket without relying on other matches.

"This match is an opportunity to continue perfecting what the coach desires and to keep striving to meet his requests from us lately," said Real midfielder Federico Valverde, who scored one goal against Pacucha.

"We must prepare ourselves as best as possible because this will be a very important and challenging match. We must strive to secure three points to qualify as the top-ranked team," Valverde stated subsequently.