Club World Cup Group C predictions: Who will qualify? Who will be top scorer?

After winning the previous iteration of the Club World Cup on two occasions, German champions Bayern Munich will have aspirations of going all the way in the new, expanded 32-team tournament. 

Before they can look too far ahead, the Bavarians will have to negotiate a tricky group that contains two-time European champions Benfica, seven-time Copa Libertadores winners Boca Juniors and 13-time OFC Champions League winners Auckland City.

Here, Sports Mole takes a look at Group C in greater depth.

Club World Cup Group C standings

Club World Cup Group C fixtures

(all times BST)

Matchday 1

Bayern Munich vs. Auckland City  (Sunday, June 15 | 5pm)

Boca Juniors vs. Benfica (Monday, June 16 | 11pm)

Matchday 2

Benfica vs. Auckland City (Friday, June 20 | 5pm)

Bayern Munich vs. Boca Juniors (Saturday, June 21 | 2am)

Matchday 3

Benfica vs. Bayern Munich (Tuesday, June 24 | 8pm)

Auckland City vs. Boca Juniors (Tuesday, June 24 | 8pm)

Club World Cup Group C predictions - who will qualify?

Bayern's Club World Cup hopes have been boosted by the presence of Jamal Musiala, who has recovered from injury to take his place in Vincent Kompany's travelling party.

Boasting a wealth of quality and experience throughout the squad, we believe that Bayern should do enough to advance to the last-16 stage as group winners.

As for Auckland City, they are the obvious underdogs in a group filled with some of the world's biggest football clubs.

The New Zealand will find it difficult to trouble their group rivals, and ultimately believe that they will be propping up the standings after the three rounds of matches.

As a result, we believe that Portuguese giants Benfica and Argentinian heavyweights Boca Juniors will battle it out to join Bayern in the knockout rounds. 

Benfica will be desperate for a positive tournament after losing out to Sporting Lisbon in the Primeira Liga title race and in the final Taca de Portugal final, while Boca Juniors are looking for a response after losing in the quarter-finals of the Apertura playoffs.

Bruno Lage's charges are our pick to clinch second spot ahead of Boca Junior, especially as they have lost in regulation time in any of their 13 competitive matches.

Final Group C standings prediction

Who will be the top scorer from Group C?

Bayern's Harry Kane has already won numerous top scorer awards in his career, including three Premier League Golden Boots, two Bundesliga Golden Boots, a European Golden Shoe and a FIFA World Cup Golden Boot. 

Kane heads into the competition on the back of a successful 2024-25 campaign, where he scored 38 goals in 46 competitive matches, including 26 in 31 Bundesliga games, to win the Bundesliga title.

After winning the first team trophy of his career, the 31-year-old will be hungry for more and will be keen to produce match-winning performances in the Club World Cup.

With that in mind, we think that the England captain could finish as the top scorer in Group C.

Benfica to edge out Boca Juniors in crucial match

We expect Benfica and Boca Juniors to battle it out for second place in Group C, making the meeting between the two sides on matchday one a pivotal contest in the battle to reach the knockout rounds.

Neither team are in the best of form, with Benfica winless in three games while Boca Juniors have failed to win any of their last four matches in regulation time.

We are predicting a nervy and cagey encounter at Hard Rock Stadium, where we think Benfica will do enough to claim a narrow 1-0 victory, and it could be thanks to a goal from prolific striker Vangelis Pavlidis, who netted 29 goals in 53 competitive matches in the 2024-25 campaign.