The 2025 Club World Cup will begin next year July, will end July, and Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami, serving as representatives of the host nation, will open the global club competition that has been expanded to 32 clubs.
With the draw held in US city Miami on Thursday, the city’s and Major League Soccer side Inter Miami were grouped with Africa’s record winning side Al Ahly, Palmeiras and Porto as Saudi Pro champions Al Hilal and European champions Real Madrid face each other in the last group where there will be an opportunity for Neymar to face former PSG teammate Kylian Mbappe.
One of Africa’s representatives and Egyptian side Ahly are presented with a heightened but not the toughest ever group in Club’s club football history. The CAF champions League champions will hope to qualify to the knockout stage to attempt beating an European champion for the first time in their history after previous meetings with Bayern Munich in 2021 semi-finals and Real Madrid in 2023 semi-finals ended in defeats.
Ahly, Africa’s most decorated football club, have won 12 times the African Champions League beating another African representatives in the 2025 Club World Cup Esperance de Tunis in the 2024 final.
Former European champions Chelsea were grouped with Brazilian giants Flamengo, Mexico’s Club Leon and Esperance de Tunis. Premier League and last two seasons’ European champions Manchester City will face Serie A side Juventus, Moroccan side Wydad AC and Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates in the opening stage of the Club World Cup.
The new 32-team competition, to be hosted in the United States next summer, has been championed by Fifa president Gianni Infantino – but is the subject of two legal challenges in Europe, which both involve players’ union Fifpro. The draw for the competition was held in Miami on Thursday.
City and Chelsea qualified as 2023 and 2021 Champions League winners respectively, but were kept apart in the draw for the group stage as part of Fifa’s complicated regional constraints.
Pep Guardiola’s side will play Casablanca’s Wydad in their opening Group G fixture before taking on Al Ain and finish against Italian giants Juventus. Chelsea start in Group D against Club Leon, then play Flamengo and Esperance Tunis. Should both English clubs progress to the knockout stages as group winners, they would go into opposite sides of the draw and would then not meet until the final.
The tournament will be held in the US from 15 June to 13 July, using 12 stadiums in 11 different cities. The final will be at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, the same stadium that will play host to the 2026 World Cup final.
Messi’s Inter Miami, as a representative of the host nation, have the distinction of playing the first match, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens.
“It’s about inclusivity, it’s about bringing clubs from all over the world, the 32 best clubs and best players from all over the world together,” Infantino said on Thursday.
Inter Miami’s selection was widely panned by critics, who saw the team’s inclusion as a way of crowbarring Messi into the tournament. The criticism only intensified when Miami were knocked out in the opening round of this season’s MLS playoffs, although they did finish top of the regular-season standings.
Major League Soccer have two teams in the tournament: Seattle and Inter Miami. The Sounders qualified as winners of the 2022 Concacaf Champions League, and Inter Miami qualified as the host nation’s representative.
“There is no rule that said the MLS Cup winner needs to be in the Club World Cup,” MLS commissioner Don Garber said. “I have no interest in anything other than what I think is going to be best for the showcase, best for our league. I am supportive of the decision that Fifa made and I’m excited to put Miami and Seattle in a global media deal and be shown around the world.”
Other opening matchups include Paris Saint-Germain v Atlético Madrid and Brazilian club Botafogo playing at Seattle in Group B as well Real Madrid facing Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal in Group H – a showdown of superstars, with Mbappé for Real Madrid and Neymar for Al-Hilal.
The club competition uses the traditional 32-team format used by the World Cup from 1998 to 2022. Eight round-robin groups of four teams each were drawn on Thursday, with the top two from each group advancing to the knockout stage.
Europe got 12 spots and South America six, while Africa, Asia and North America all got four – with Inter Miami essentially a fifth from North America since it has host status. Oceania got one spot.
Global biggest clubs like Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal, Barcelona, AC Milan, Olympique Marseille, Olympique Lyon, Zamalek (Egypt), Asante Kotoko and Hearts of Oak (Ghana), Ajax did not qualify for the opening edition.
Groups for 2025 Club World Cup
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atlético Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Internazionale.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al-Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
