This Group H encounter of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup will be played between Austrian Bundesliga club FC Salzburg and Saudi Professional League club Al-Hilal on June 23 at Audi Field in Washington, DC.
Here are our preview and prediction for the game.
Salzburg are coming off a difficult season, having performed poorly both in the Austrian Bundesliga and the UEFA Champions League. They have also been placed in a tough group here alongside Real Madrid, Pachuca, and Al-Hilal.
However, the Austrian outfit had the perfect start to the competition, beating Mexican club Pachuca 2–1 in the opener. Pachuca had the better chances early on, but young Salzburg keeper Christian Zawieschitzky kept them at bay with some smart saves. Oscar Gloukh opened the scoring for Salzburg in the 42nd minute with a sublime curling effort into the net, and the Austrian club went into the break with a narrow lead. Pachuca did level proceedings with a classy finish from Bryan González in the 56th minute when he went direct from a free kick with a curling effort into the right post. However, Salzburg found the winner twenty minutes later when Karim Onisiwo headed home from a Mads Bidstrup cross into the box. This was a huge win for the Austrian side, which sees them sitting top of the table as the other encounter between Real Madrid and Al-Hilal ended in a draw.
The game between Real Madrid and Al-Hilal was seen as an easy encounter for the Spanish giants. But they were in for a huge shock as Al-Hilal matched them throughout the game and managed to share the spoils. Both Al-Hilal and Real Madrid have hired new coaches in former Inter Milan coach Simone Inzaghi and former Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso, respectively. With a host of popular European players in their side, Al-Hilal made the brighter start, but it was Real Madrid who broke the deadlock in the 34th minute, with Gonzalo García finishing a counter-attacking move assisted by Rodrygo. However, Al-Hilal restored parity seven minutes later when Rúben Neves converted from the spot, awarded for a foul on Marcos Leonardo by Raúl Asensio. Both teams tried to find a winner in the second half but couldn’t manage to do so. Al-Hilal shot-stopper Yassine Bounou also made a couple of reaction saves, including a penalty save from Federico Valverde, to hold on to a point late on. Los Blancos looked underwhelming in a game they were expected to win, as Al-Hilal looked threatening.
Coming to the match-up between Salzburg and Al-Hilal, based on form and squad strength the Saudi team look superior. With the likes of Rúben Neves, João Cancelo, Marcos Leonardo, Yassine Bounou, and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic in their team, and the coaching acumen of Simone Inzaghi, they are looking like a well-drilled and dangerous side. On the other hand, Salzburg have a slew of young talents in Edmund Baidoo, Oscar Gloukh, Yorbe Vertessen, and Mads Bidstrup — though they are missing forward Karim Konaté due to an ACL injury.
Al-Hilal look like the better team here in terms of tactics, squad strength, and experience. Also, after the draw against Real Madrid, they will be looking to grab all three points in this game. It is likely to be an open affair with both teams going for a win, but we back Al-Hilal for a close win.
Score Prediction: Salzburg 1–2 Al-Hilal
Venue: Audi Field, Washington, DC
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