🔊 How will the showdown between the Group H underdogs unfold? The first round of the Club World Cup is nearing its conclusion. On June 19, at the TQL Stadium in Cincinnati, Mexico's Pachuca will take on Austria's Red Bull. With Real Madrid and star-studded Al-Hilal in the group, both teams face slim odds of advancing to the playoffs. However, they are capable of challenging the Saudi giants, making it crucial to start the tournament with a win. Bookmakers believe Salzburg have the better chance of achieving this.

Head-to-Head

📊 The teams hail from different continents, so they have yet to cross paths on the football pitch.

Pachuca Team Overview

🔵 Pachuca arrived in the USA as the reigning powerhouse of North American football. In the final of the last CONCACAF Champions Cup, they effortlessly defeated Columbus Crew with a 3-0 victory, securing the trophy for the sixth time. However, the current form of "Los Tuzos" leaves much to be desired. They have won only 1 of their last 5 official matches, having been knocked out by Club América in the Clausura quarterfinals and subsequently drawing 1-1 in a friendly against Egyptian side Al Ahly.

🔝 It's worth noting that Salomón Rondón scored a brace in the aforementioned Champions Cup final. The veteran striker is Pachuca's top scorer this season with 17 goals. He continues to be called up for the Venezuelan national team and recently found the net against Bolivia in a World Cup qualifier. Also playing crucial roles in the attack are Oussama Idrissi, who has experience across several European clubs, and John Kennedy, on loan from Fluminense.

RB Salzburg Team Overview

🔴 Red Bull are one of those teams whose presence in the World Championship lineup raises eyebrows. They made it here due to some peculiar qualification rules. The "Bulls" rank only 18th in UEFA coefficients from 2021 to 2024, but they secured a spot in the tournament thanks to the strictly limited number of participants from each country. Last season was a complete flop for them, failing to win anything in Austria and collecting just three points in the Champions League group stage. Pep Lijnders, the long-time assistant to Jürgen Klopp, couldn't make his mark as head coach, and since January, Thomas Letsch has been at the helm.

🔝 The key figures in Red Bull's attack are the young talents Nene Dorgeles and Oscar Gloukh, who combined for 39 goal contributions last season. While the Israeli hasn't been making headlines recently, the Malian boasts 8 goals and 1 assist in his last 10 matches. Both will be highly motivated to make their mark at the Club World Cup.

Latest news

Pachuca

📝 Due to unsatisfactory results, Pachuca's management has decided to part ways with Guillermo Almada, who had been at the helm for over 150 matches. On May 29, Jaime Lozano, formerly with the Mexican national team, was appointed as the head coach.

❌ The team will be without Ecuadorian center-back Andrés Micolta in the upcoming match, as he has been sidelined since February with a knee injury.

RB Salzburg

📝 At the start of June, Red Bull signed a new assistant coach, Jens Wissing. He previously held this position at PSV and Benfica under the guidance of Roger Schmidt.

❌ Moussa Kounfolo Yeo and Karim Konate have been sidelined for a long time due to knee injuries. Nicolas Capaldo has been out since late April because of a fractured finger. The Argentine midfielder is a mainstay in the starting lineup.

⚽️ Goal Prediction

⚽️ Goal Prediction

Red Bull have been showing decent scoring form towards the end of the season, even in matches where they haven't picked up points. Notably, they've scored in the second half for seven consecutive games—a significant streak. Following this trend, we suggest a bet on Salzburg to score in the 2nd half.

🚩 Corner Prediction

Both teams deliver plenty from the corner flag, averaging six corners over their last 10 matches. It's no surprise that the total number of corners in their games often exceeds ten. Given our expectation for an open contest, we recommend betting on over 8.5 corners.

The tournament has already delivered a few draws, and the upcoming match could very well join that list. Yes, Red Bull appear slightly more favorable given their current form and squad strength, but they don't show a clear advantage. Therefore, a draw, perhaps with a scoreline of 2-2, wouldn't be surprising.

We anticipate plenty of goals—such is the nature of the Austrian club's playstyle. The over has hit in four of their last five matches, and both teams to score (yes) has come through in eight of nine games. We recommend focusing on the latter option.