This Group H encounter at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup will be played between Mexican outfit Pachuca and Austrian giants Red Bull Salzburg — just Salzburg during UEFA and FIFA tournaments — on June 19 at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati.
Here are our preview and prediction for the game.
In 2024/25, Jaime Lozano’s Pachuca had a mixed bag Liga MX campaign, finishing 16th in the Apertura but ending up in the play-off round of the Clausura. They come into the CWC in similarly patchy form, having won three of their seven games since April.
Given the strength of other teams in Group H, the Tuzos are undoubtedly underdogs and, as a result, will need to take at least a point from this clash if they are to stand any chance of progressing to the next round.
Salzburg, on the other hand, had a tumultuous season that saw manager Pepijn Lijnders — now an assistant coach at Manchester City — getting sacked mid-December and replaced by Thomas Letsch two days later. Letsch went on to guide them to a second-place finish in the Austrian Bundesliga’s championship round, and he will want to use the Club World Cup to prepare for his first full season at Stadion Salzburg.
After their friendly against Seekirchen was cancelled last week, Salzburg have been out of action since their final league fixture in May, so it remains to be seen whether they will be rusty on day one.
However, if they can take all three points here, Salzburg could then find themselves in a strong position to progress to the knockouts, especially considering that their favourable schedule sees them go up against Al-Hilal before a showdown with Real Madrid next Friday.
Coming into this fixture, Pachuca may have been in a mixed run of form, but having played more recently than Salzburg, their comparative readiness could see them prove to be a much bigger threat than what many would like to believe.
On the other hand, Salzburg will be expected to win considering the level of opposition they face; failing to do so will almost certainly be seen as a disappointment.
Score Prediction: Pachuca 1–1 Salzburg
Venue: TQL Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio
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