Club World Cup Group A Tour: Porto Palmeiras is strong, Messi may bring surprises

The first Club World Cup will kick off on June 15. A total of 32 teams will participate in this Club World Cup. These 32 teams are divided into 8 groups, with 4 teams in each group. A single round competition will be held. The top two teams enter the knockout stage. Group A brings together clubs from four continents: Europe, Africa, South America and Central and North America, namely Porto in Europe, Cairo nationals in Africa, Palmeiras in South America and Miami International in Central and North America. Porto and Palmeiras are the strongest, and Messi may bring surprises to the majority of fans! The following is a detailed introduction to the 4 clubs.

Miami International is undoubtedly one of the most popular teams in this Club World Cup. There are two reasons: First, the Club World Cup is held in the United States, and Miami International is the host team; second, because of Messi's existence, the Club World Cup gives Messi the opportunity to fight with the top European teams again, provided that Miami International can qualify from the group and enter the knockout round. Miami International is a very young team. He was founded by Beckham in 2018 and was approved to join the American League in 2020. The fans are well-known to the freelance Messi in the summer of 2023. At Messi's request, Miami International signed former Barcelona stars such as Alba, Busquets and Suarez, forming Barcelona's senior F4.

In 2024, Messi led Miami International to the regular season championship of the FA League and qualified to participate in the Club World Cup. However, they were eliminated by Atlanta United in the first round of the playoffs and missed the playoff championship. Miami International ranked 579th in the world, the lowest among all participating teams, with a total player value of 66.18 million euros, third in this group and 21st among all participating teams, of which Messi is worth 18 million euros, making him the highest-value player. Miami International head coach is former Argentina international Mascherano and Messi's former teammate. Miami International's first game was against Cairo Nationals at 8 a.m. on June 15, which is also the opening game of this Club World Cup.

Porto is the only European team in Group A of the Club World Cup and is also one of the top three in the Portuguese Super League. It has won the Champions League twice, the UEFA Cup twice, and there are 30 Portuguese Super League titles and 20 Portuguese Cups. However, in recent seasons, Porto's performance has declined. The last time they won the Portuguese Super League championship was in the 2021-2022 season. This season, they only ranked third in the Portuguese Super League, 11 points behind the champion Portuguese Sports and will miss the Champions League next season. The current coach of Porto is 39-year-old Argentine Anselmi. He previously served as the independent coach of the Blue Cross and the Valley and took office in January 2025.

Porto is a famous star processing factory. Not to mention the distant stars, the stars who have emerged from Porto in the past 10 years include Casemiro, Ales Sandro, Militon, Louis Dias and Vitinia. The most valuable star in the team is the 21-year-old Spanish striker Omoro Dion, who is worth 50 million euros, and Portugal's national goalkeeper Diogo Costa, who is worth 40 million euros. The most popular star is the 18-year-old midfield genius star Mora, who is worth 40 million euros. Porto ranks 47th in the world, with a total value of 350 million euros. It is the highest-value team in Group A and ranks 10th among all participating teams in the Club World Cup. Porto's first game was at 6:00 am on June 16 against Palmeiras.

Palmeiras is a veteran Brazilian strong team. He has won the South American Liberators Cup three times, in 1999, 2020 and 2021, and won the Brazilian La Liga championship 11 times, including 2022 and 2023, and won the second place in the Brazilian La Liga in 2024. It is currently the peak period of the team. Palmeiras coach is 46-year-old Portuguese Ferreira, who previously served as Braga's head coach. Since coaching the team in November 2020, he has led the team to win two South American Liberators Cup championships, one South American Cup Winners Championship and one Brazil League championship, and can be regarded as the team's meritorious coach.

Currently, the highest value in Palmeiras team is the 18-year-old Brazilian striker Estewan. This is another rising talented player, but Chelsea has already booked in advance and will join Chelsea next month, with a transfer fee of 34 million euros. Palmeiras is ranked 24th in the world and is the highest-ranked team in Group A. The total value of the whole team is 210 million euros. It is second only to Porto in this group and 13th among all 32 participating teams. Their first game will be against Porto at 6:00 a.m. on June 16.

Cairo Nationals is the lowest-known team in this group, but it is the unfair African overlord team. They have won the African Champions League 12 times and the Egyptian Super League 43 times. Cairo Nationals is currently ranked 55th in the world and is the highest ranking of all African teams. Their status in African football is similar to Real Madrid's European football. The team's head coach is 49-year-old Espanyol Rivero. He has been the team's head coach for less than half a month. The most valuable player in the Cairo Nationals is the 30-year-old Egyptian international forward Trezege, who is worth 5 million euros. He only transferred from Trabzon Sports in the Turkish Premier League a few days ago. The Cairo National Team has a total value of 30.88 million euros, making it the lowest-value team in this group, ranking 27th among all participating teams. Their first game was against Miami International at 8 am on June 15, which was also the opening game of the Club World Cup.

From the perspective of overall strength, the two strongest teams in Group A are Porto and Palmeiras. However, Miami International, which has the advantage of hosts, cannot be underestimated. With Messi, they may enjoy various preferential treatments on and off the court, and the mysterious army Cairo nationals may bring surprises to fans.