Manchester City vs Al-Hilal

In an unbeaten clash at the 2025 Club World Cup, Manchester City and Al-Hilal face off in a high-stakes last-16 match at Orlando’s Camping World Stadium on Monday.

Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City dominated their group, securing a perfect nine points. Meanwhile, Al-Hilal, packed with talent, took second place in their group behind Real Madrid.

Manchester City, hungry for trophies, showcased their dominance in the group stage, becoming the only team to win all three matches. They crushed Al-Ain and Wydad AC with eight goals combined and sealed their Group G leadership with a 5-2 thrashing of Juventus, despite a rare error from goalkeeper Ederson, offset by an even bigger mistake from Juventus’ Pierre Kalulu.

City’s group stage stats were unmatched: a +11 goal difference and control of the game for 89% of their playing time. Riding a five-match winning streak from the 2024-25 Premier League season, they head into this match as a formidable force, yet Al-Hilal remains undefeated in the tournament.

While City’s attack stole the show, Al-Hilal leaned on a rock-solid defense, conceding just one goal in Group H, tying Paris Saint-Germain for the best defensive record. Despite scoring only three goals, they held Real Madrid to a 1-1 draw, battled Red Bull Salzburg to a scoreless tie, and clinched their knockout spot with a vital win over Pachuca, thanks to Salem Al-Dawsari’s stunning lob and a late Marcos Leonardo goal.

Unbeaten in eight matches since a 3-1 loss to Al-Ahli in the AFC Champions League semi-finals, Al-Hilal now face their second-ever competitive match against a Premier League side, having fallen 1-0 to Chelsea in the 2021-22 Club World Cup semi-finals. A victory over Manchester City would set up a quarter-final clash with either Fluminense or Inter Milan, the former club of Al-Hilal’s coach, Simone Inzaghi.