The Club World Cup 2025 will bring together some of the best teams worldwide to compete in a tournament to crown the world’s best. A total of 32 teams will participate, with each playing three group games before the knockout stage begins at the last 16.
Within those teams are some of the best players in the world in attacking football, yet some stand above others in terms of their statistics.
Danger zone positioning masters
The Danger Zone Positioning Masters are the players who have the most touches in the box per game.
Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain are renowned for their dynamic offensive line that has defenders' heads spinning, looking for a Parisian to pick up in the box.
Out of the four main attackers for PSG, Bradley Barcola (6.7 box touches/game) and Ballon D’Or-touted Ousmane Dembele (5.9 box touches/game) stand out for the number of touches they have in the box. Both love to dribble at defenders, twisting and turning, which could contribute to their high numbers.
The number one danger zone positioning master in the Club World Cup is none other than Kylian Mbappe.
The Real Madrid number 9 has 10.7 touches in the box per game, showing his effectiveness in getting the ball in the danger zone.
Mbappe’s teammate Vinicius Junior also has a high number of touches in the box at 7.6 per game. It is no surprise, then, that the two scored 64 goals between them in the 2024/25 season for Los Blancos, with the number of times they see the ball close to goal.
With their attacking dynamism, it will be no surprise to see Real go far in the Club World Cup.
Manchester City’s Erling Haaland is another player singled out as a Danger Zone Position Master, averaging 6.6 touches in the box per game. This will come as no surprise that the big Norwegian forward then scored 19 of his 22 goals in the Premier League in the box.
A player of a similar vein is Aleksandar Mitrovic of Al-Hilal. Mitrovic cut his teeth in the Premier League before leaving Fulham and heading to Saudi Arabia. He was always known for being great in the box in the Premier League, and he has kept that up in the Saudi Pro League.
Mitrovic averages 6.3 touches in the box per game, and of the 19 goals he scored in the Saudi Pro League last season, every single one came from inside the box.
Other players of note who take a high amount of touches are Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane (5.6 box touches/game) and Dortmund’s Serhou Guirassy 5.7 box touches/game).
Dribbling wizards
There is arguably no greater sight in football than a player dribbling past and beating his man. Many types of dribblers will grace the Club World Cup this year, from speedy wingers to press-resistant midfielders.
Teams utilise successful dribblers in a host of ways to offensively progress the ball up the pitch.
One of the best teams for dribblers in the 2025 Club World Cup is Manchester City. The 2023 Champions League Winners have three players who all have over 60% dribbling success 1v1.
Jeremy Doku has a 60.5% dribble success rate when bombing down the left wing with his left-sided defensive partner, Josko Gvardiol, having a 62.5% dribble success rate.
The progression on City’s left-hand side will be a heavily used part of their build-up play, and when you have Mateo Kovacic in the middle with a 61.1% dribble success rate too, you can see that City have numerous players with dazzling control of the ball 1v1.
The top 1v1 specialist in the Club World Cup is PSG’s Vitinha. The young Portuguese dribbling wizard has clocked up a 71.1% dribble success rate and leads the stats of those in the Club World Cup.
His teammate, Lee Kang-In, also has a high dribble success rate at 59.2%. The 2024 Champions League winners are renowned for their dribbling as a team, and that is sure to be on show this summer again.
Other players to keep an eye on for the 1v1 dribbling are Juventus’ Weston McKennie (64.5% dribble success), Atletico Madrid’s Pablo Barrios (64.1% dribble success) and Monterrey’s Nelson Deossa (60.5% dribble success).
Progressive engines
What has made Vitinha truly stand out this season as one of the best midfielders in the world is his progression with the ball, not just as a dribbler, but also with his passing. With Fabian Ruiz and João Neves backing him up in the PSG midfield, Vitinhia has the chance to be the ultimate playmaking architect for the Parisian outfit.
We saw that clearly in the Champions League Final, where two key progressive passes from Vitinhia resulted in goals. The first broke the lines and found a free Desire Doue to assist Achraf Hakimi, with the second being a direct assist for Doue as he ran onto the ball and blasted into the net.
On average, Vitiniha plays 22.2 progressive passes per game, one of the highest rates among players in this year's Club World Cup.
Like Vitinhia being an amazing dribbler and passer, Mateo Kovacic is the same. The Croatian Midfielder makes, on average, 20.6 progressive passes per game, showcasing his playmaking credentials.
One of the best playmakers in the tournament will be Bayern Munich’s Joshua Kimmich.
There were rumblings earlier this year that Kimmich could be on the move this summer.
Having a progressive passing rate of 29.7 per game, it is no surprise that Kimmich was a wanted man and also no wonder that Bayern tied him down to a four-year contract extension to keep him at the club until 2029.
The 30-year-old is not the only Bayern player who can be relied on for progressive passes in his team. Young Frenchman Michael Olise has dazzled since his move to Bavaria last summer from Crystal Palace.
He averages 19.1 progressive passes per game, which contributed to his 17 assists for Bayern last season in all competitions, the most in his team.
Other players to watch in terms of progressive passing are Oscar Gloukh (22.5 progressive passes/game) for Red Bull Salzburg, Sergio Canales (19.3 progressive passes/game) for Monterrey, and Al-Hilal duo Ruben Neves (20.3 progressive passes/game) and Salem Al Dawsari (18.6 progressive passes/game).
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