With the round of 16 matches for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup officially concluding on Tuesday, July 1, the stage is set for the quarterfinals. There will be four quarterfinals matches held between July 4 & 5, with MetLife Stadium being one of the locations that these matches will be taking place in. On July 1, two matches were played and the winners of each decided who would move on and play their next game in the Meadowlands.
Real Madrid, one of the most favored teams to win the entire tournament, faced off against Italian club Juventus F.C. first. With stars like Kylian Mbappé, Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior, it is not surprising that they are one of the most dominant teams in the tournament. Juventus F.C. are not an easy team to beat either, however, currently at fourth in the Serie A standings.
Real Madrid struck first on a goal from Gonzalo García in the 54th minute. That was all they needed to secure a 1-0 victory over Juventus, though, the numbers show their performance was much more dominant. Real Madrid secured 21 shots compared to six from Juventus. Real Madrid had 11 shots on target, while Juventus had just two. It wasn’t only in terms of scoring, as Real Madrid had a 58% possession rate.
The next game was Borussia Dortmund taking on Monterrey. Entering the game, Borussia Dortmund were moderately favored, though not enough to stop the game from being competitive. However, Borussia Dortmund quickly changed that by making it 2-0 in 24 minutes, thanks to two goals from Serhou Guirassy.
Monterrey scratched and clawed their way back and started to erase the deficit with a goal in the 48th minute from Germán Berterame, however, they weren’t able to use that momentum they had gotten at the start of the second half.
Monterrey controlled the ball, having eight more shots than Borussia Dortmund, with 14. They also had seven shots on target, compared to Borussia Dortmund’s three. They had a 59% possession rate, but Guirassy’s two goals were enough to propel Borussia Dortmund forward with a 2-1 victory.
With both games decided, the stage is now set for July 5 at 4 p.m. for MetLife Stadium. Real Madrid will be taking on Borussia Dortmund with the winner moving on to the semifinals, where they would be just two wins away from becoming champions.
Real Madrid enter the game as significant underdogs, though it is never too late to call a team out. Both teams will have their work cut out for them to move on to the next round.
Borussia Dortmund has played in the Meadowlands once before for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, just a few weeks ago. The match ended in a 0-0 draw against Fluminense FC. However, any draws must be decided by a penalty shootout at this stage in the tournament, so Borussia Dortmund will look to put it away in regulation. However, Real Madrid are undoubtedly their toughest challenge yet in the tournament.