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FIFA Club World Cup draw: Man City in same group as Juventus, Chelsea get Flamengo

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FIFA Club World Cup draw: Man City in same group as Juventus, Chelsea get Flamengo

Defending champions Manchester City have been grouped 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 UAE side Al Ain, and face Moroccan team Wydad AC in their Group G opener.

Chelsea will come up against Esperance Sportive de Tunis in Group D in addition to Rio-based Flamengo and will open their Club World Cup campaign against Mexican side Club Leon.

The new-look Club World Cup will feature 32 teams and will be played every four years from the summer of 2025.

Lionel Messi and Inter Miami will open the tournament with a Group A clash against Egyptian club 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 conducted by Juventus and Italy legend Alessandro Del Piero.

The innovative new FIFA Club World Cup Trophy, designed by FIFA and crafted in collaboration with global luxury jeweller Tiffany & Co, was unveiled for the first time by FIFA president Gianni Infantino and former Brazil striker Ronaldo ahead of the draw.

Club World Cup draw in full

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

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

Group C: Bayern Munich (Ger), Benfica (Por), 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

The audience at the FIFA Club World Cup draw in Miami watched a prerecorded video message from US President-elect Donald Trump in which he said soccer is going “through the roof.”

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

Trump complimented FIFA President Gianni Infantino in his address.

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

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

“We’ve known each other a long time, and I’m so honoured to have this kind of a relationship because soccer is going through the roof. As everybody knows, it’s been doing fantastically well.”

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

“I want to say my highest regards in respect to Gianni, and it’s an honour to be with you and we’ll be with you very soon,” Trump said.

“And we’re going to be watching the World Cup, very importantly, also very soon. And I was very responsible, along with Gianni in getting it. And it’s going to be a fantastic thing.”

When is the 2025 Club World Cup?

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 take place 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 2025 Club World Cup?

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

The 2025 Club World Cup takes place in the United States across 12 stadiums:

  • 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, D.C.)

What’s the format of the Club World Cup?

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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola responds to 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 club

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

The 32 teams have been divided into eight groups of four teams, with the top two teams in each group qualifying for the knockout stage.

The last-16 stage – the first single knockout round – then moves to the quarter-final, semi-final and then final. There is no third-place play-off between the two losing semi-final teams.

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