Lionel Messi and Inter Miami will open this year’s Club World Cup against Egyptian club Al Ahly, while Kylian Mbappé and Neymar will face Real Madrid and Al-Hilal.
Premier League champions Manchester City will face Juventus, Moroccan side Wydad AC and Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates in the opening stages of the controversial FIFA tournament, while Chelsea will face Brazilian giants Flamengo, Mexican side Club Leon and Esperance Tunis.
The new 32-team competition, to be held in the United States next summer, is being championed by FIFA president Gianni Infantino but is the subject of two legal challenges in Europe involving players’ union Fifpro. The draw for the competition took place in Miami on Thursday.
City and Chelsea qualified as winners of the 2023 and 2021 Champions League respectively, but were separated in the group stage draw as part of FIFA’s complicated regional restrictions.
Pep Guardiola’s side will play Casablanca’s Wydad in their opening Group G match before taking on Al Ain and finishing with Italian giants Juventus. Chelsea starts in group D against Club Leon and then plays against Flamengo and Esperance Tunis. Should both English clubs progress to the knockout stages as group winners, they would go on opposite sides of the draw and not meet until the final.
The tournament will be held in the US from June 15 to July 13, in 12 stadiums in 11 different cities. The final will take place at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, the same stadium that will host the 2026 World Cup final.
Messi’s Inter Miami, representing the host country, has the honor of playing the first match at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens.
“It’s about inclusivity, it’s about bringing together clubs from all over the world, the 32 best clubs and the best players from all over the world,” Infantino said on Thursday.
Inter Miami’s selection was widely panned by critics, who saw the team’s inclusion as a way to involve Messi in the tournament. The criticism only increased when Miami was eliminated in the opening round of this season’s MLS playoffs, despite finishing atop the regular season standings.
Major League Soccer has 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 country’s representative.
“There is no rule that says the winner of the MLS Cup must participate in the Club World Cup,” said MLS Commissioner Don Garber. “I have no interest in anything other than what I think is best for the showcase, what is best for our league. I support the decision that FIFA has made and I am excited to put Miami and Seattle in a global media deal and show it around the world.”
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Other opening matches include Paris Saint-Germain against Atlético Madrid and Brazilian club Botafogo playing in Seattle in Group B, and Real Madrid facing Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia in Group H – a showdown between superstars, with Mbappé for Real Madrid and Neymar for Al-Hilal. Hilal.
The club competition uses the traditional 32-team format used during 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 stages.
Europe got twelve places and South America six, while Africa, Asia and North America all got four – with Inter Miami essentially one-fifth below North America, due to its host country status. Oceania got one spot.
Groups for the 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.