The groups of the Club World Cup: Superlatives and exotic opponents

On Thursday evening, the group stage draw for the Club World Cup, which will take place in the USA in June and July 2025, was made.

05 December 2024

From: tu/dpa

FC Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund have been drawn against interesting but also absolutely doable group opponents for the first Club World Cup in the new XXL format. The two Bundesliga clubs should reach at least the round of 15 at the tournament in the USA from June 13 to July 2025, 63. The tournament with its XNUMX matches will take place at twelve venues.

As the leader of Group C, Bayern will face Auckland City from New Zealand, Boca Juniors from Argentina and Benfica Lisbon. The Munich team has just beaten Portugal's record champions 1-0 in the Champions League thanks to a goal from national player Jamal Musiala.

FC Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund can be satisfied. © APA/afp / INA FASSBENDER

Dortmund will play in Group F against the traditional Brazilian team Fluminense from Rio de Janeiro, Ulsan HD from South Korea and Mamelodi Sundowns from South Africa. "A Brazilian team, a Korean team and one from South Africa, that's an exotic group. That's good. They are opponents that you don't really have on your radar, which makes it interesting," commented BVB international Julian Brandt.

Serie A can also be satisfied

The two Italian teams that have qualified for this inaugural tournament are Inter Milan and Juventus Turin. Inter were drawn from the second pot of Group E. There, the Milanese will face River Plate, a traditional club from Argentina, the Urawa Red Diamonds, a team from the Japanese metropolis of Tokyo, and CF Monterrey, the winners of the CONCACAF Champions League from Mexico. Together with River Plate, the Nerazzurri are considered the big favorites to prevail in this group.

Lautaro Martinez and his colleagues know their opponents at the Club World Cup. © APA/afp / GABRIEL BOUYS

Juventus, on the other hand, will have to compete with the giants of Manchester City. The English team, led by star coach Pep Guardiola, won the UEFA Champions League in 2023. The Bianconeri will also face Wydad AC from Morocco, the winners of the 2022 CAF Champions League, and Al-Ain FC from Abu Dhabi, who won the AFC Champions League this year. Juventus should prevail here too and advance to the knockout round.

The Austrian representative FC Salzburg will face the royal Real Madrid, Al-Hilal, which is currently dominated by Neymar and his magic tricks, and Club León from Mexico in its group.

A tournament of superlatives

The game will be played in the format of the World Championships for national teams. The first and second from each of the eight preliminary groups will advance to the round of 13. From there, the competition will continue in a knockout system. The final on July 2025, XNUMX will be played in New Jersey in the football stadium of the New York NFL teams Giants and Jets. There will be no third-place match at the Club World Championship.

The tournament with a total of 63 matches will take place in the USA from June 15 to July 13, 2025 at twelve venues. The opening match will be played by Inter Miami with superstar Lionel Messi and Al Ahly from Egypt. FIFA has promised the 32 participating clubs high prize money. According to reports, participation alone will bring in at least 50 million US dollars.

The groups

Group A
SE Palmeiras, FC Porto, Al Ahly FC, Inter Miami CF

Group B
Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle Sounders FC

Group C
Bayern Munich, Auckland City FC, CA Boca Juniors, SL Benfica

Group D
CR Flamengo, ES Tunisie, Chelsea FC, Club Leon

Group E
CA River Plate, Urawa Red Diamonds, CF Monterrey, FC Inter Milan

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

Group G
Manchester City, Al Ain FC, WAC, Juventus Turin

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