After just two group stage matches at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup in the United States, the first African team has been eliminated.
The African continent is represented by four of the 32 teams taking part.
They are Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa), Al Ahly (Egypt), Esperance de Tunis (Tunisia) and Wydad AC (Morocco).
All four sides were paid $9.55 million in appearance fees.
Pack their bags
However, after just two fixtures, Wydad AC are preparing to pack their Club World Cup bags.
In their defence, the Moroccan side where drawn in a tough Group G where they lost 2-0 against English giants Manchester City in their opener and then 4-1 against Italian side Juventus.
However, thanks to the prize money structure in place, they do have the chance of adding to their appearance fee total in their final group stage match.
As a reminder, every group stage win is worth $2 million, while a draw will see both sides pick up $1 million.
Losers leave empty-handed.
Wydad AC will take on fellow winless side Al Ain on Thursday, 26 June at 15:00 (SA time).
Avoid elimination
Meanwhile, Al Ahly will have to beat Portuguese side Porto in their final Group A match on Monday, 23 June to avoid being eliminated.
Anything less than a full three points will see the Egyptian side fall short of the Round of 16 – and even that may not be good enough.
Elsewhere, Esperance de Tunis also face a daunting task in having to beat Chelsea in order to progress to the next stage.
That clash will take place on Tuesday, 24 June.
Finally, from a South African point of view, Mamelodi Sundowns still have a chance of progressing to the Round of 16 despite having lost 4-3 against Borussia Dortmund on Saturday.
Masandawana will likely have to upset Brazilian side Fluminense in their final Group F clash on Wednesday, 25 June at 21:00 (SA time) in order to stay in the tournament.
Should they draw with Fluminense, they will have to rely on already eliminated Ulsan HD pulling off a shock two-goal win over unbeaten Borussia Dortmund.
Teams to have been eliminated
In Group C, Auckland City from New Zealand will be preparing to pack their bags after losing 10-0 to Bayern Munich and 6-0 to Benfica in their opening two matches.
They will be looking for better fortune – and perhaps a goal – in their final clash against Boca Juniors on Tuesday.
Auckland City received $3.58 million in participation fees.
In Group D, Los Angeles FC have been eliminated after going down 2-0 to Chelsea and 1-0 against Esperance de Tunis.
They too will be hoping to end their campaign on a winning note against Flamengo on Tuesday.
Los Angeles FC earned $9.55 million for taking part.
In Group E, Japan’s Urawa Red Diamonds will head home after the group stage is complete having lost 3-1 to River Plate and 2-1 to Inter Milan.
Urawa Red Diamonds will end their tournament against Monterrey on Wednesday.
The Japanese side also earned $9.55 million in appearance fees.
In Group F, South Korea’s Ulsan HD will also see their tournament come to a premature end having lost 1-0 against Mamelodi Sundowns and 4-2 against Fluminense.
Ulsan HD face a daunting final clash against Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday, but did earn $9.55 million for showing up.
In Group G, both Wydad AC and Al Ain have been eliminated having lost to Manchester City and Juventus.
To be fair to the Moroccan and UAE sides, they were drawn in the ‘group of death’ and were always going to face a daunting challenge to progress.
There’s more money on the line for both team’s, however, when they clash on Thursday this week.
Both Wydad AC and Al Ain earned $9.55 million in appearance fees.
Finally, in Group H, Mexico’s Pachuca will be leaving after the group stages are complete having lost 2-1 to Red Bull Salzburg and 3-1 against Real Madrid.
They will take on Al-Hilal in their final group clash on Thursday.
Pachuca banked $9.55 million for qualifying for the tournament.
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