Bundesliga
Fresh from their Bundesliga title success, Bayern Munich are eager to add a FIFA Club World Cup this summer. bundesliga.com outlines five reason why Vincent Kompany's men can follow up a sensational season with more ground-breaking success in the USA.
1) Another gong to gobble up
A simple glance at Bayern's ever-lengthening list of titles will tell you this is a club that lives and breathes silverware. Regaining the Bundesliga Meisterschale in 2024/25 represented a return to the top of the German football tree and reignited ambitions in a side accustomed to winning.
Make no mistake about it: Bayern are in the USA with their sights firmly on lifting the Club World Cup, with reigning UEFA Champions League champions Paris Saint-Germain their next opponents. They beat Flamengo 4-2 in the round of 16, while they enjoyed a record-setting 10-0 Club World Cup win over Auckland City on their way to the knockout stages.
Watch: The best moments in Bayern's title-winning season
From Thomas Müller, who has a chance of surpassing Toni Kroos as the most decorated German player in football history in his Bayern swansong, to Harry Kane, who would love to build on his first major career trophy, every single player in the Bundesliga champions' ranks is eagerly eying the prize.
2) Kane bonus
Unless you are completely new to football, you probably don't need telling that Kane brings goals by the bucketload wherever he goes. The 2024/25 Bundesliga top scorer clearly enjoys international tournaments, claiming the Golden Boot in the 2018 FIFA World Cup and sharing the honour at UEFA Euro 2024 in Germany last summer.
Having also topped the scoring charts in the 2023/24 UEFA Champions League, the chances have to be very high indeed that Kane manages the same feat at this inaugural 32-team Club World Cup.
He got off the mark in Bayern's 2-1 win over Boca Juniors, and following his brace against Flamengo the England captain is just one goal off the top of the pile. You wouldn't bet against him adding to that haul between now and the end of the tournament.
3) Guess who's back?
While Bayern's Bundesliga title win showed the strength of their collective - through which dazzling individual talents like Michael Olise shone - a big factor in their narrow UEFA Champions League exit to eventual finalists Inter Milan was undoubtedly the absence of their creator-in-chief, Jamal Musiala.
With the 22-year-old marking his big tournament return in the USA with a sensational hat-trick against Auckland City, Musiala looks to be back to his devastating best again.
The playmaker has proven he can make all the difference in a close knockout tie and had delivered personal-best of 12 goals in 25 appearances before sustaining a hamstring injury in April. He came on from the bench against Flamengo and could well be brought into the starting XI against PSG.
Musiala, plus returning goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, are thus vital assets in Bayern's quest to land the trophy.
Watch: Five magic Musiala moments
4) Been there, done that
While the new FIFA World Club Cup trophy would obviously feature in Bayern's trophy cabinet for the first time should the Bavarians triumph in July, the Bavarians are just one of four clubs to have already won the Club World Cup more than once.
They claimed the honour in both 2013 and 2020, having also won the Intercontinental Cup in 1976 and 2001.
Four of the side that started the 2020 World Club Cup Final win against Tigres in Qatar are part of this summer's squad: Neuer, Joshua Kimmich, Kingsley Coman and Serge Gnabry, while a young Musiala was introduced as a late substitute.
Having a core of experienced players versed in travelling the world and tackling opponents from other confederations is a major asset for Bayern - with Neuer and the departing Müller also having their experience of the 2014 World Cup win in Brazil to call upon in their tilt for world club glory.
5) Bayern = America's team
From New York City to Los Angeles, Bayern have official fan clubs across the United States, with the official number (including Canada) standing at a whopping 95 in North America alone.
Such is the appeal of the Bavarian giants stateside, that Bayern opened offices in Manhattan back in 2014, before moving that HQ to the world-famous Rockefeller Center in the Big Apple in 2023.
Taking to the United States with a passionate travelling support from home, Bayern have now been met by their American fan family at the tournament. The combination is making the Bundesliga champions one of the best supported teams at this Club World Cup.
So far during their time in the United States, the Bundesliga champions have met with fan clubs in Cincinnati, Miami and Charlotte, with Bayern's director of fan relations Markus Meindl telling the official club website: “We want to be close and approachable for our fans from across the globe. That’s our DNA, that’s what makes our club so unique."