Pachuca – RB Salzburg

The Mexican squad will not lose to the youngest team in the tournament

The Club World Cup in the United States brought together some of the most unexpected participants. While Liverpool, Barcelona, Arsenal, Napoli and a number of other solid teams from the European continent did not receive invitations to the tournament Red Bull Salzburg came here. The same Austrian club that had been doing well in the European and national arenas, until they got caught up in the change of playing generations. If the Europeans have fully formed the TOP-9 favourites of the championship, then Salzburg got only in the middle of this list. Actually in Group H, the Bulls are also not favourites in the fight for a place in the playoffs. No one questions Real Madrid's status in this quartet, but Al-Hilal and Pachuca are quite capable of taking the final second position. The Mexican club reached the final of the old format Club World Cup six months ago. Despite a 0-3 loss to Real Madrid, Pachuca can rightly consider themselves the reigning vice-champions of the tournament. Bookmakers have not identified a favourite for the upcoming confrontation, offering a slight slope of odds in favour of the European representative. Pachuca will take part in the Club World Cup as the winner of the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup. This will be the Mexicans' fifth start in the tournament. The team's best results are third and second place in 2017 and 2024, respectively. Pachuca has not participated in European competitions this season. The team failed in the Apertura in the autumn, failing to make the playoffs, and in the spring in the Clausura made it to the playoffs, but was immediately eliminated by Club America. Salzburg for the last couple of years also cannot be called a team worthy of the world championship. If previously the Bulls were invariable winners of the national championship, they have now passed this status to Sturm. For the second season in a row, Salzburg are only second in the division. In the last draw of the Champions League "bulls" generally disgraced themselves, taking 34th place in the general stage. In eight rounds, the team picked up three points, conceding 27 goals. Most likely, there really is no favourite in the Mexican-Austrian pairing. Under such circumstances, a double outcome in favour of Pachuca should be chosen.