The Best (and Worst) Club World Cup Group Stage Statistics

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Hooligan Soccer

·27 Juni 2025

The Best (and Worst) Club World Cup Group Stage Statistics

Pouring over the data out of the group stage I couldn’t help but notice some rather intriguing points that struck me. So I’m putting them out here to share. All data was taken from match reports, and analyzed by hand. No AI was used. Teams in bold italics advanced into the Round of 16.

Highest Possession %

Manchester City (UEFA) – 73.6%
Paris Saint-Germain (UEFA) – 73.4%
Bayern Munich (UEFA) – 73.1%
Mamelodi Sundowns (CAF) – 65.6%
Inter Milan (UEFA) – 65.4%

Interesting how Mamelodi Sundowns, who blatantly model their playing style on Brazilian principles, outperformed every Brazilian club in possession. Unfortunately for them, one key characteristic they could not emulate was scoring. Their 12.8 shots taken is the exact median of all teams, but their 2.8 shots on frame sat well below the group average of 4.6.

Video OneFootball

Most Accurate Shooting %

This statistic can be misleading. The values are calculated by dividing the number of shots on frame by the total number of shots. It doesn’t take into account shot frequency or goal conversion (that one’s next). The fact that only three of the five in the list advanced to the Round of 16 proves it’s not a pure determining factor.

Auckland City (OFC) – 63.6%
Al Ahly (CAF) – 56.6%
Botafogo (CONMEBOL) – 54.3%
Bayern Munich (UEFA) – 50.0%
Inter Miami (CONCACAF) – 47.6%
Average across all teams – 36.9%

Best Goal Conversion %

Juventus (UEFA) – 91.7%
Boca Juniors (CONMEBOL) – 60.0%
Inter Milan (UEFA) – 55.6%
Real Madrid (UEFA) – 50.0%
Monterrey (CONCACAF) – 50.0%
Median across all teams – 29.3%

I had actually thought I had an error in my data when I saw that top line. But I double-checked, and it’s correct. Juventus actually had a game where they scored 4 goals off 3 shots (there was one own goal); their shooting accuracy was also a high 41.3%.

Best Shooting Teams That Didn’t Advance

FC Porto (UEFA) Averaged 19.5 shots and 6.2 shots on frame per game. Scored 6 goals. Not enough.

Al Ahly (CAF) Averaged a strong 13.5 shots and 7.5 shots on frame per game; a low 18.2% goal conversion doomed them.
CF Pachuca (CONCACAF) Had the worst goal conversion (10.5%) of any team.
Red Bull Salzburg (UEFA) Slightly below average shots (11.3) but decent on frame average (4.8). Second-worst goal conversion (14.3%).
Atlético Madrid (UEFA) Had Atlético been in any other group, they would be advancing. Five teams with fewer points moved on.

Worst Shooting Team That Did Advance

Inter Milan (UEFA) – 15.3% As noted above, when they did shoot on frame it went in 55.6% of the time.
Al Hilal (AFC) – 25.0% Only scored three goals total, but that was enough.
Fluminense (CONMEBOL) – 25.5%
Palmeiras (CONMEBOL) – 27.8%
Monterrey (CONCACAF) – 28.2%

The above teams are proof that accuracy isn’t everything; they’re all way below the 36.9% average.

Why Stats Don’t Always Tell the Story

You’d expect teams with stronger shooting accuracy and goal conversion to advance, but our analysis across the UEFA and CONMEBOL federations shows that the highest values for these variables didn’t necessarily equate with a superior position.

For example, UEFA teams that finished first in their group averaged 38.6% accuracy and 41% conversion. Teams finished second averaged 43% accuracy and 58% conversion. Much, much better. In CONMEBOL the first place teams averaged 30.8% accuracy and 33% conversion. Second place teams averaged 39.9% accuracy and 26.9% conversion. Those are still wide variances, even if the conversion number is expected.