FIFA Club World Cup Draw Reveals Group Stage Matchups for Manchester City and Chelsea

The draw for the FIFA Club World Cup next summer has placed defending champions Manchester City in a group with Juventus, while Chelsea is set to play Brazilian club Flamengo. FIFA President Gianni Infantino also revealed a new trophy for the tournament. Manchester City, managed by Pep Guardiola, secured their first Club World Cup title in 2023 by defeating Brazilian side Fluminense. The team will commence its title defense in Group G against Morocco’s Wydad and Al Ain from the United Arab Emirates. Chelsea, the champions of the 2021 final, have been grouped in Group D with Mexico’s Club Leon and Tunisia’s Esperance Sportive de Tunisie. The newly expanded FIFA Club World Cup, now featuring 32 teams, is scheduled to be held in the United States from 15 June to 13 July next year. Group A: Palmeiras, FC Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami Group B: Paris St-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle Sounders Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica Group D: Flamengo, Esperance Sportive de Tunisie, Chelsea, Club Leon Group E: River Plate, Urawa Red Diamonds, Monterrey, Inter Milan Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg The draw ceremony itself was a complex and extended event, spanning over 90 minutes and conducted across two distinct locations in Miami. During this event, the new Club World Cup trophy was officially unveiled. The proceedings included a video message from incoming US president Donald Trump, with his daughter Ivanka participating by drawing the first team. The tournament’s opening match will feature Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami against Egyptian club Al Ahly, taking place at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. Other notable pairings include Paris St-Germain facing Atletico Madrid in Group B, and Bayern Munich playing Benfica in another all-European group-stage encounter. In the group phase, teams will compete against each other once, with the top two from each group advancing to the knockout stage. The tournament next summer will feature teams representing all six international football confederations, with European clubs having the largest representation at 12 teams. European berths were allocated based on clubs’ Champions League performances over the preceding four seasons, ensuring guaranteed participation for recent victors such as Chelsea, Manchester City, and Real Madrid. Al Ain, recognized as the most successful club in the UAE with 14 league titles, is owned by Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the country’s president and older brother to Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour. Real Madrid, who secured their fifth FIFA Club World Cup trophy in 2022, extending their record, will commence their campaign against Saudi Pro League champions Al-Hilal, a team that includes Neymar. A spot designated for a club from the host nation was controversially allocated by FIFA to Inter Miami, which will participate in the tournament’s opening game. Despite winning the regular-season MLS Supporters’ Shield, Messi’s team was defeated in the MLS play-offs, meaning they are not the current season’s champions. The matches are slated to be played across 12 venues within the US, a nation that will also co-host the 2026 World Cup alongside Canada and Mexico. FIFA is currently facing legal challenges from player unions and leagues concerning the tournament’s schedule, which is set to begin two weeks after the 2024-25 Champions League final concludes the European calendar and will finish five weeks prior to the inaugural Premier League match of the 2025-2026 season. However, football’s global governing body maintains that these dates provide adequate rest periods before the commencement of domestic league campaigns. The Club World Cup, which previously occurred annually with only seven participating teams, will now be held quadrennially. Streaming platform DAZN has acquired exclusive broadcasting rights for next summer’s tournament, which will feature 63 matches contested over a period of 29 days.