Club World Cup Preview: CF Pachuca

In partnership with

Hooligan Soccer

·15 June 2025

Club World Cup Preview: CF Pachuca

The thirty-first in our continuing series highlighting all thirty-two clubs in the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup, and the third of Group H. The event started on Saturday, June 14th.

Club Background

From: Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico
How They Qualified: They won the CONCACAF Champions Cup last year.
Best CWC Finish: They’ve qualified for this tournament five times. They finished third back in 2018.

Recent Form: Finished in 8th place in LigaMX Clausura; finished 16th in the LiaMX Apertura. Runner-up in the FIFA Intercontinental Cup. Did not qualify for the 2025 CONCACAF Champions Cup.
Facts: Founded in 1892. They are the oldest soccer club in Mexico. Their nickname is “Tuzos” (Gopher), which pays homage to the Cornish miners who founded the club.

The Team

Manager: Jaime Lozano Former coach of Mexico’s national team, where he underwhelmed after leading the team to victory in 2023’s Gold Cup. He replaced Guillermo Almada in late May.
Star Players: Oussama Idrissi Moroccan winger. 1g/6a (team leader in assists). Salomón Rondón Venezuelan striker. 10g/3a. John Kennedy Brazilian midfielder. 9g/2a.
Young Players: Alan Bautista 22 year old midfielder. Already has some caps for Mexico at the youth level. Luis Puente 21 year old forward, came out of the Tuzos academy.
Training Sites: UNC Charlotte, Charlotte, North Carolina

When to Watch

6:00pm ET on Jun 18, 2025 vs. Red Bull Salzburg @ TQL Stadium, Cincinnati, OH
3:00pm ET on Jun 22, 2025 vs. Real Madrid @ Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC
9:00pm ET on Jun 26, 2025 vs. Al Hilal @ GEODIS Park, Nashville, TN

The Hooligan Take

Quite frankly, this is one of the weakest Pachuca sides in many years. Aside from a silver medal in the FIFA Intercontinental Cup back in December, the team has underperformed at nearly every level. They had a -4 goal differential across the LigaMX stages (one of the only teams in this tournament with this dubious distinction). Their attack is completely reliant on Rondón and Kennedy, who have scored 62% of all the team’s goals in 2025. This is not a recipe for success, and I fear they will exit early.