FIFA Club World Cup Futures (Knockout Rounds)

The FIFA Club World Cup is in full swing with the group stage now over and the Knockout Rounds starting on Saturday, June 28. The field has shrunk from 32 teams to 16 teams and the pathways are clear now that the bracket is set. The group stage was filled with some shocking results, but there is still plenty of value to be found in the later rounds. Now with the Knockout Rounds getting ready to start, it is time to see where there is still value to be had. 

Manchester City +110: Man City is the favorite to reach the Final for this tournament and they have really started to ramp up their play now. They did not have the best season in the Premier League and struggled even more in Champions League this year, but they ended the EPL season in great form and they have carried it into this tournament. They are one of the few teams in the tournament to win all 3 matches in their group and even though they did not go full force in their 1st match, they have been getting better and better in each match with the way they played their last 2. They are now going to be fully focused on these matches going forward and will not be tinkering as much with their lineup as well. They are on the weaker side of the bracket by far so they have a very good chance to make the Final and they start the Round of 16 with a weaker Al Hilal side, and they already got a taste of that style of play in their match against Al Ain. If they get through that, they will see the winner of Inter Milan/Fluminense and both of those should be easier matchups for them as well. The only thing stopping them from the Final after that would be a match against the winner of Palmeiras/Botafogo or Benfica/Chelsea. They might struggle more with one of the Brazilian clubs, but they still have a lot more quality than both of those sides. If it is Benfica or Chelsea then they should have a much easier time in that match as they are more used to playing against the European style, and they also dominated Chelsea in the Premier League this year. Man City at +110 has value to make the Final.

Real Madrid +200: Real Madrid is not the favorite to make it to the Final from their side of the bracket, but they have been starting to ramp up their play recently. They did not have a good Champions League run this year despite being the defending champions at the time, but they did finish 2nd in their domestic league and were not a bad team. They have a lot of quality in their squad and just failed to put it all together at times, but now they are starting to play with some more confidence in this tournament. They struggled a bit in their 1st match of the tournament as they drew with Al Hilal, but they still played very well in that match and went on to dominate their opponents in their next 2 matches of the group stage. Now they are going to be fully focused on this tournament since they have been in much better form their last 2 matches, and they have also been missing Mbappe who will be a big boost when he comes back. They are on the tougher side of the bracket, but their 1st match is against Juventus who was handled by Man City in their last match of the group stage so that should be no problem for them, and the winner of Dortmund/Monterrey will not be much of a threat to them either. The real trouble for Real Madrid comes in the Semi Final when they could be facing PSG, Inter Miami, Flamengo, or Bayern Munich. All 4 of those teams are very strong forces, but Real Madrid has both the quality and the depth to compete with any of those clubs. The motivation is also going to be very strong for Real Madrid as this was a rare year that they did not win any trophies, but they still have a chance to salvage that season with a title from this tournament. Real Madrid at +200 has value to make the Final.

Real Madrid -150: Real Madrid is the favorite on their side of the bracket to reach the Semi-Final and that is due to them being in a weaker part of the bracket. Their 1st match of the Knockout Round will be against Juventus and Juventus was looking very strong in the tournament, until they faced Man City in their last match. Juventus showed that they are not a real contender in this tournament and Real Madrid should have no trouble getting by them. Then they would have to face the winner of Dortmund/Monterrey in the next round, but neither of those clubs have the quality that Real Madrid has and Dortmund specifically showed some weaknesses in the group stage against lesser opponents. This is a very good price for Real Madrid to make the Semi-Final considering how they do not have the strongest competition in that part of the bracket. Real Madrid at -150 has a lot of value to make the Semi-Final. 

Flamengo +900: Flamengo is not the favorite to make the Semi-Final and they are not even favored to make it out of the Round of 16. They are in a very difficult pocket of the bracket that might just be the toughest part with the quality of opponents, but they have been a very underrated club in this tournament. They were not even favored to win their group but they did and they beat the group favorite Chelsea 3-1. They have been one of the best clubs in all of South America over the last few years and they are a very unique team that can adapt to their opponent and find ways to exploit them. They are facing Bayern Munich in their 1st match of the Knockout Round and Bayern is no easy task, but they showed some weakness in the group stage with their 1-0 loss to Benfica which lost them the group, and they also struggled against the South American style in their 2-1 win over Boca Juniors who is a much weaker South American club than Flamengo. If Flamengo does manage to get by Bayern, they will have to face the winner of PSG/Inter Miami and both of those are winnable matches for them. Inter Miami played well against palmeiras in the group stage, but Palmeiras would have won that match with a little more time and Flamengo is a lot more talented than Miami as a whole. PSG is the Champions League champions of this season and have played great in the tournament, but they did take a 1-0 loss to Botafogo in the group stage and have already shown that they can struggle against these better Brazilian clubs. Flamengo at +900 has a lot of value as a dark horse to make the Semi-Final. 

Botafogo +400: Botafogo is another team that is not the favorite to reach the Semi-Final from their part of the bracket, but they are one of the better teams in all of South America as they won both the Brasileirao and Copa Libertadores last season. They have also played very well in this tournament as they qualified over Atletico Madrid in their group, and even though they did not win their group, they did beat the group winner PSG in their H2H match. Botafogo will have to play Palmeiras in their 1st match of the Knockout Round who is another elite club from Brazil, but these two are very familiar with each other and Palmeiras has not beaten Botafogo in their last 5 meetings, Botafogo winning 3 of those. If they can get through Palmeiras, they will be facing the winner of Benfica/Chelsea in the next round, but neither of those clubs are top clubs in Europe at the moment. Benfica won their group over Bayern and beat them H2H, but they also struggled with Boca Juniors in a 2-2 draw and that is a much weaker South American club than Botafogo is. Chelsea also showed their struggles against the South American style as they lost their group to Flamengo and lost to Flamengo 3-1 in their meeting. Botafogo has the quality to get through these weaker European sides if they get through Palmeiras so this is a very good price for them. Botafogo at +400 has a lot of value to reach the Semi-Final. 

Botafogo +120: Botafogo was already mentioned earlier as a possible club to reach the Semi-Final of this tournament so for all the same reasons, they have some value at this price to reach the Quarter-Final. Botafogo at +120 has value to reach the Quarter-Final.

Flamengo +225: Flamengo was already mentioned earlier as a possible club to reach the Semi-Final of this tournament so for all the same reasons, they have some value at this price to reach the Quarter-Final. Flamengo at +225 has value to reach the Quarter-Final.