FIFA Club World Cup draw: Manchester City in same group as Juventus, Chelsea take on Flamengo | Football News


Defending champions Manchester City have been drawn with Juventus for next summer’s FIFA Club World Cup, while Chelsea have been drawn in the same group as Flamengo.

City will also play Al Ain of the UAE and face Moroccan side Wydad AC in the first Group G.

Chelsea will face Esperance Sportive de Tunis in Group D, in addition to Rio-based Flamengo opening their Club World Cup campaign against Mexican side Club Leon.

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, both involving the players’ union FIFPRO.

City and Chelsea qualified as Champions League winners in 2023 and 2021 respectively, but were kept apart in the group stage draw as part of FIFA’s complex regional restrictions.

Cole Palmer and Erling Haaland
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Chelsea’s Cole Palmer and Manchester City’s Erling Haaland look set to feature at the Club World Cup

If both English clubs progress to the knockouts as group winners, they would go to opposite sides of the draw and then not meet until the final.

Lionel Messi and Inter Miami will open the tournament with a Group A clash with Egyptian side Al Ahly at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida on June 15. Palmeiras and Porto are the other teams that make up Group A.

The draw for next year’s tournament took place in Miami and was officiated by Juventus and Italy legend Alessandro Del Piero.

The innovative new FIFA Club World Cup trophy, designed by FIFA and manufactured in partnership with global luxury jeweler Tiffany & Co, was unveiled for the first time by FIFA President Gianni Infantino and former Brazil striker Ronaldo ahead of the draw .

The entire Club World Cup draw

Group A: Palmeiras (Brz), Porto (Por), Al Ahly (One), Inter Miami (USA)

Group B: Paris Saint-Germain (Fra), Atletico Madrid (Esp), Botafogo (Brz), Seattle Sounders (USA)

Group C: Bayern Munich (Germany), Benfica (Port), Boca Juniors (Arg), Auckland City (NZL)

Group D: Flamengo (Brz), Chelsea (Eng), Club Leon (Mex), Esperance Sportive de Tunis (Tun)

Group E: River Plate (Arg), Inter Milan (Ita), CF Monterrey (Mex), Urawa Red Diamonds (Jpn)

Group F: Fluminense (Brz), Borussia Dortmund (Ger), Ulsan HD (Kor), Mamelodi Sundowns (Rsa)

Group G: Man City (Eng), Juventus (Ita), Wydad AC (Mor), Al Ain (UAE)

Group H: Real Madrid (Esp), FC Salzburg (Aut), Al Hilal (Rsa), CF Pachuca (Mex)

Trump: Football is going through the roof

Donald Trump has been impeached for a second time

The crowd at the FIFA Club World Cup draw in Miami watched a pre-recorded video message from US President-elect Donald Trump in which he said football was going “through the roof”.

Ivanka Trump, her husband, Jared Kushner, and their son, Theo, were among those in attendance at the event to draw the teams for the expanded 32-team tournament to be held in the United States next year.

Trump congratulated FIFA president Infantino in his speech.

He said: “I’ll try to be there if I can, I will. We’ll see what happens. But I just want to say that you’re led by a man called Gianni. I just know him as Gianni and he’s a winner and he’s the president, and I am the president.

President Donald Trump jokes about a red card during a meeting with FIFA president Gianni Infantino, center, and United States Soccer president Carlos Cordeiro in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2018, in Washington
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Donald Trump jokes with FIFA President Gianni Infantino during his first term as US President in 2018

“We’ve known each other for a long time and I’m very honored to have this kind of relationship because football is going through the roof. As everyone knows, he’s doing fantastically well.”

Trump also noted that the 2026 men’s World Cup will be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

“I want to extend my warmest regards to Gianni and it’s an honor to be with you and we’ll be with you very soon,” Trump said.

“And we will watch the World Cup, very important, also very soon. And I was very responsible, together with Gianni, to get it. And it will be something fantastic.”

When is the Club World Cup 2025?

Manchester City lift the Club World Cup
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Manchester City are the defending Club World Cup champions

The Club World Cup will be played over 29 days in the summer of 2025.

The tournament starts on June 15, with the final taking place on July 13.

Where is the Club World Cup 2025?

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Sky Sports chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol explains why clubs should bring their strongest squad to the Club World Cup, how out-of-contract players can play next summer and how a special transfer window will be introduced

The 2025 Club World Cup is played in the United States in 12 stages:

  • Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta)
  • Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte)
  • TQL Stadium (Cincinnati)
  • Rose Bowl Stadium (Los Angeles)
  • Hard Rock Stadium (Miami)
  • GEODIS Park (Nashville)
  • Camping World Stadium (Orlando)
  • Inter&Co Stadium (Orlando)
  • Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia)
  • Lumen Field (Seattle)
  • Audi Field (Washington, DC)

What is the format of the Club World Cup?

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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has hit back at the new FIFA Club World Cup rule that teams must bring their “strongest players” to the competition, saying only he knows who the strongest players are for his team.

The tournament format works exactly like the FIFA World Cup, only for clubs.

The 32 teams have been divided into eight groups of four, with the top two teams in each group advancing to the knockout stages.

The last 16 stage – the first knockout round alone – then moves on to the quarter-finals, semi-finals and then the final. There is no playoff for third place between the two losing semi-final teams.