Pachuca, Mexico’s oldest football club and six-time CONCACAF champions, return to the Club World Cup looking to prove they can still compete with the world’s best. With Real Madrid, Al-Hilal and RB Salzburg in their path, can Tuzos deliver another surprise on the global stage?
1) Who will Pachuca face at the Club World Cup?
Pachuca have been drawn into Group H and these are their group stage fixtures:
18 June: vs RB Salzburg. TQL Stadium, Cincinnati.
22 June: vs Real Madrid. Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte.
26 June: vs Al-Hilal. Geodis Park, Nashville.
2) Domestic success
Pachuca are seven-times Liga MX champions, most-recently winning the 2022 Apertura, demolishing Toluca 8-2 on aggregate in the final back then. Only six Mexican clubs have claimed more titles.
3) A disastrous season
Despite their historical success, Pachuca have endured a miserable campaign. First, they finished third-bottom of the Apertura table, winning only three of 17 matches, losing ten.
Tuzos did then somewhat stabilise in the Clausura, finishing eighth, before being dumped out of the final phase by Club América in the quarter-finals, this their most-recent competitive match, taking place all the way back on 11 May. Nevertheless, this saw them end up 12th in the overall table, their lowest finish since 2018, never finishing lower than that in the modern Liga MX era.
4) Continental titles
Despite their relative lack of domestic pedigree, Pachuca are powerhouses when it comes continental competition. Back in 2006, they hoisted aloft the CONMEBOL Sudamericana trophy, defeating Colo-Colo 3-2 in the final, thereby the only Mexican club to win a South American title.
Meantime, Tuzos are also six-times CONCACAF Champions Cup winners, only Club América can boast more. They were most-recently the kings of North America almost exactly a year ago, defeating Columbus Crew 3-0 in the final at Estadio Hidalgo, with Salomón Rondón scoring twice.
5) Past Club World Cup expirence
Given this success, Pachuca have plenty of previous Club World Cup expirence, with this set to be their fifth appearance at the competition. However, their record to date is, at best, mixed.
They were ousted in the first round in 2007 and 2010 by Étoile Sportive du Sahel and Wydad Casablanca respectively, while their best runs came in 2008 and 2017, reaching the semi-finals, ultimately eliminated by LDU Quito and then Grêmio. This means they've only ever won four of nine Club World Cup matches, yet to face European opposition at the tournament.
Although, Tuzuos did impress substantially more during last December's FIFA Intercontinental Cup. Against the odds, they smashed Botafogo 3-0 in Doha and then overcame Al Ahly on penalties, thereby meeting Real Madrid in the final, albeit they were swatted aside 3-0 in that one.
6) Tuzos: Mexico's oldest club
Founded in 1892 by British miners originally from Cornwall, Pachuca are officially Mexico's oldest football club. In fact, of the five founding members of the Liga Mexicana, they are the only club still in existence to this day. Their nickname Tuzos, which translates to Gophers, pays homage to the city's mining heritage.
7) Pachuca players to watch: Salomón Rondón
35 year old Salomón Rondón has certainly had a journeyman career, plying his trade in Spain, Russia, England, China and Argentina. He won a league title with Zenit Saint Petersburg and then scored 36 Premier League goals for West Bromwich Albion, Newcastle and Everton. He is also Venezuela's all-time record scorer, hoping to fire la Vinotinto to their first-ever World Cup next summer.
Since moving to Mexico in December 2023, Rondón has been on fire, scoring 36 goals in 67 appearances for Pachuca. This includes nine in seven CONCACAF Champions Cup outings, bagging hat-trick against both Philadelphia Union and Herediano, as well as a double in the final.
8) Pachuca players to watch: John Kennedy
John Kennedy, not that one, will always be a hero at fellow-Club World Cup participants Fluminense, because he scored the extra time winner when they won the Copa Libertadores for the first time ever, beating Boca Juniors in the 2023 final at the Maracanã, also sent off for his celebration.
Nevertheless, the Brazilian was loaned out to Pachuca in January and, since then, he's been in fabulous form, scoring nine times in 20 appearances, making him Tuzos' top-scorer in 2025 to date.
9) Manager Jaime Lozano: in charge following shock resignation
On 23 May, little over there weeks before the Club World Cup is scheduled to commence, manager Guillermo Almada announced his intention to resign as Pachuca boss. It was rumoured that he was planning to takeover as Cruz Azul's head coach instead, albeit that did not come to pass, following la Máquina's CONCACAF Champions Cup triumph over Vancouver Whitecaps.
To replace Almada, Tuzos appointed former national team manager Jaime Lozano as their new boss on 29 May, so will take charge of Pachuca for the very first time at this tournament.
10) Pachuca preparing to face heavyweights
Pachuca will commence their Club World Cup campaign against RB Salzburg in Ohio before facing Real Madrid in North Carolina, hoping for better than the 3-0 defeat they suffered when the pair met in Doha as recently as December.
They then conclude against Al-Hilal in Tennessee, very much underdogs to progress.