The FIFA Club World Cup is undergoing a major overhaul ahead of its 21st edition in 2025. With an expanded field of 32 teams, the official draw for the tournament took place on Thursday, December 5th, revealing the rivals for Lionel Messi‘s Inter Miami.
This year, the teams have been divided into eight groups of four, setting the stage for the tournament’s opening phase. The competition will take place over four weeks in the United States, from June 15 to July 13.
The 32 clubs were placed into four pots. Pot 1 featured the top four teams from UEFA and CONMEBOL, while Pot 2 included eight teams from Europe. Pot 3 contains the top two teams from the AFC, CAF, Concacaf, and two remaining teams from CONMEBOL.
Pot 4 was made up of the remaining teams from Asia, Africa, and Concacaf, as well as the host team, Inter Miami, and the representative from Oceania. Team placement in the pots is determined by the rankings from each confederation.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino with the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 (Brennan Asplen/Getty Images)
Messi’s Inter Miami will play Al Ahly in the opening match in home soil, as the game will take place at the Hard Rock Stadium. The other group rivals will be Brazilian side Palmeiras and Portuguese giants Porto.
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2025 FIFA Club World Cup Groups
The FIFA Club World Cup will follow a knockout format after the group stage, with the winners and runners-up from each group advancing. The knockout rounds will consist of four stages: a round of 16, quarterfinals, semifinals, and the final. Now, without further ado, here are the groups.
Group A
- Palmeiras
- FC Porto
- Al Ahly FC
- Inter Miami
Group B
- PSG
- Atletico Madrid
- Botafogo
- Seattle Sounders
Group C
- Bayern Munich
- Auckland City FC
- Boca Juniors
- Benfica
Group D
- Flamingo
- Espérance Sportive de Tunisie
- Chelsea
- Club Leon
Group E
- River Plate
- Urawa Red Diamonds
- Monterrey
- Inter Milan
Group F
- Fluminense
- Borussia Dortmund
- Ulsan HD
- Mamelodi Sundowns FC
Group G
- Manchester City
- Wydad AC
- Al Ain
- Juventus
Group H
- Real Madrid
- Al Hilal
- Pachuca
- FC Salzburg
