Messi’s Inter Miami open Club World Cup 2025 as Man City draw with Juventus | Club WC

Lionel Messi and Inter Miami open this year’s Club World Cup against Egyptian club Al Ahly, as Kylian Mbappé and Neymar 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 group stage of Fifa’s controversial tournament, while Chelsea will host Brazilian giants Flamengo, Mexico’s Club Leon and Esperance Tunis.

The new 32-team competition, due to be held in the US next summer, has been championed by Fifa president Gianni Infantino – but is the subject of two legal challenges in Europe, both involving players’ union Fifpro. The draw for the competition was held in Miami on Thursday.

City and Chelsea qualified as the 2023 and 2021 Champions League winners respectively, but were kept apart 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 game before taking on Al Ain and finishing against Italian giants Juventus. Chelsea start in Group D against Club Leon and then play Flamengo and Esperance Tunis. Should both English clubs progress to the knockout stages as group winners, they would go in opposite sides of the draw and would then only meet in the final.

The tournament will be held in the United States from June 15 to July 13, with 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.

Representing the host nation, Messi’s Inter Miami excelled in playing the first match at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens.

“It’s about inclusiveness, it’s about bringing clubs from all over the world, the 32 best clubs and best players from all over the world together,” Infantino said on Thursday.

Inter Miami’s selection was widely panned by critics who saw the team’s inclusion as a way to get Messi into the tournament. The criticism only intensified when Miami was eliminated in the opening round of this season’s MLS playoffs, even though they finished 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 nation’s representative.

“There is no rule that says the MLS Cup winner has to be in the Club World Cup,” said MLS Commissioner Don Garber. “I have no interest in anything other than what I think will be best for the showcase, best for our league. I support the decision Fifa made and I’m excited to put Miami and Seattle in a global media deal and be shown around the world.”

Other opening matches include Paris Saint-Germain v Atlético Madrid and Brazilian club Botafogo, who play in Seattle in Group B, as well as Real Madrid v Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal in Group H – a clash of superstars, with Mbappé for Real Madrid and Neymar for Al-Hilal.

The club competition uses the traditional 32-team format used by 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 progressing to the knockout stage.

Europe got 12 places and South America six, while Africa, Asia and North America all got four – with Inter Miami essentially a fifth from North America as it has host status. Oceania got a place.

Groups for the club WC 2025

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.