FULL LIST: Man City, Real Madrid, Chelsea know opponents in new-look Club World Cup

Real Madrid will face Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia, Mexico’s CF Pachuca, and FC Salzburg in Group H of the revamped FIFA Club World Cup (CWC). 

The draw for the group stage of the new-look 32-team CWC was held in Miami, US, on Thursday.

Manchester City were drawn against Wydad AC of Morocco, Al-Ain FC of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Juventus in Group G. Chelsea got Flamengo of Brazil, Mexico’s Club Leon and Esperance Sportive de Tunis.

Inter Miami, Lionel Messi’s team, were paired against Palmeiras, Porto and Al Ahly of Egypt.

FIFA had indicated its intention to expand the men’s CWC from seven to 32 teams in December 2022.

In 2023, the US was announced to host the revamped competition.

The expanded number of participants gave Africa four slots, Europe got twelve, and South America claimed six spots. North America and Asia have four teams each.  Oceania and the US, the host, have one team each.

Qualification criteria are divided into two: automatic qualification and ranking-based. The automatic slots went to teams that have won the premier club competition in their respective continents since the 2020/21 season. The criteria secured the automatic participation of Real Madrid, Chelsea, and Man City, winners of the recent editions of the UEFA Champions League.

The ranking-based criterium is determined by the teams’ performances in the premier club competition in their respective continents since the 2020/21 season.

However, only the top two teams from each country can qualify. European powerhouses like Liverpool and Barcelona missed out on the competition because two teams from their respective countries had qualified.

The 2025 Club World Cup will hold from June 15 to July 13 in the US.

FULL DRAW:

Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami

Group B: Paris St-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle Sounders

Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Benfica, Boca Juniors

Group D: Flamengo, Chelsea, Club Leon, Esperance Sportive de Tunis

Group E: River Plate, Urawa Red Diamonds, CF Monterrey, Inter

Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan HD, Mamelodi Sundowns

Group G: Manchester City, Wydad AC, Al Ain FC, Juventus

Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, CF Pachuca, FC Salzburg