The 2025 Club World Cup kicks off this weekend in the United States.
The expanded version of this competition means that clubs from across the globe will compete against one another, with 32 teams competing for a shiny new trophy and the title of world champions.
So who’s up for the cup?
Group A
All eyes are on Inter Miami, AKA Barça Old Boys: Lionel Messi has been playing alongside Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Luis Suarez, and Javier Mascherano replaced Gerardo Martino as head coach last November. They’ll be playing two of their three group games at their own Hard Rock Stadium, which should help.
Top seeds Palmeiras qualified by winning the 2021 Copa Libertadores under Portuguese boss Abel Ferreira, still in situ, and have recently developed winger Estevao Willian. Regarded for years as one of Brazil’s most exciting talents, the 18-year-old already has four caps for his country and will join Chelsea in a £51m deal after the Club World Cup.
Egyptian titans Al Ahly have won three of the last four CAF Champions Leagues, but Porto – with Andre Villas-Boas their president now – have had a poor season.
Group B
Seattle Sounders, taking part having triumphed in the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League, will play all three group games in their home stadium. They recently signed former Rangers winger Ryan Kent, who made headlines in 2023 for purchasing a pet crocodile while playing for Fenerbahce in Turkey (it must have been a snap decision).
Kent could face fellow Englishman Conor Gallagher, who will hope to help Atletico Madrid fare better in the Club World Cup than in the Champions League, which they’ve still never won.
PSG will fancy their chances after recent Champions League exploits, while Botafogo touch down in the USA having lifted the Copa Libertadores for the first time in their 120-year history last November, shortly before bagging their first Brazilian title since 1995.
Group C
Harry Kane finally won his first major trophy, as Bayern Munich claimed the Bundesliga – how about another? How he does in the summer heat of the US could be telling, ahead of the World Cup next summer. This tournament will also be 35-year-old Thomas Muller’s farewell after 17 years in Bayern’s first team.
Veterans unite in this group: Boca Juniors are captained by a 38-year-old Edinson Cavani, with Ander Herrera, 35, also among their ranks, and they could meet fellow ex-Manchester United man Angel Di Maria, 37, now back at Benfica.
New Zealanders Auckland City, the sole OFC participant, might find it tough.
Group D
Chelsea are here because they won the 2021 Champions League, which seems a lifetime ago – of their 14 players from that final, only Reece James has played a league game for them this season. At least they should have plenty of players fresh for this summer, having bought about 180 of them since then.
They’ll be favourites to top Group D ahead of 2022 Libertadores winners Flamengo, who hired ex-Chelsea defender Filipe Luis as their boss last year. Tunisia’s Esperance de Tunis will have their work cut out.
The other team in this group was due to be León, 2023 CONCACAF Champions League winners, but the Mexican club were kicked out in March for having the same owners as fellow participants Pachuca. An appeal was dismissed, as was a legal case by Alajuelense of Costa Rica, who believed they deserved the spot for lifting 2023’s Central American Cup.
FIFA instead ordered a play-off match between Los Angeles FC, who lost to León in the 2023 Champions League Final, and another Mexican side in Club América, the highest-ranked CONCACAF team not to qualify for the tournament. Los Angeles were triumphant: so who’s up for a repeat of Denmark ’92?
Group E
Monterrey, another Mexican team, are in due to winning the 2021 CONCACAF Champions League. Captained by Sergio Ramos, 39, they sacked ex-Manchester City defender Martin Demichelis as their manager in the hours before FFT went to print, just to keep us on our toes.
Inter Milan are group favourites following their excellent season, but River Plate will also be a threat after re-appointing successful former boss Marcelo Gallardo last summer.
Japanese side Urawa Red Diamonds, 2022 AFC Champions League Final victors, are also present.
Group F
After a below-par Bundesliga campaign, Borussia Dortmund can try to redeem themselves under new manager Niko Kovac. They’ll vie for top spot with 2023 Libertadores winners Fluminense, captained by 40-year-old Thiago Silva.
Both teams must find a way past Mamelodi Sundowns’ Ronwen Williams, ranked the ninth-best goalkeeper in the world at last year’s Ballon d’Or after his AFCON displays for South Africa.
South Koreans Ulsan HD, so much better than standard definition, complete Group F.
Group G
Manchester City are the defending champions of this sort-of inaugural competition. They won the final seven-team Club World Cup in 2023, and Real Madrid’s triumph in a similar format in December was under the new guise of the FIFA Intercontinental Cup. City had a poor 2024/25 campaign by their high standards, but Rodri’s return from injury could make a difference.
Juventus should provide the sternest test. The Old Lady qualified via ranking points accumulated in European competition, despite Napoli and Milan winning Serie A more recently. Defender Lloyd Kelly spent the second half of the season on loan at Juve from Newcastle, starting regularly before injury.
Wydad, of Casablanca in Morocco, are here courtesy of winning the 2022 CAF Champions League, while the UAE’s Al Ain qualified as 2024 AFC champions. They have been managed this year by Vladimir Ivic – the UAE being exactly where you’d expect a former Watford gaffer to turn up – having given up on their previous tactic of appointing legendary goalsmiths, in Serhiy Rebrov (2021-23) and Hernan Crespo (2023-24).
Group H
Real Madrid have already been world champions more times than any other team – nine, if you include December’s FIFA Intercontinental Cup triumph over Pachuca. This season they made a dog’s dinner of their Champions League title defence, laboured domestically and lost their manager to Brazil, so nothing would be more on-brand than Los Blancos lifting this trophy anyway.
They’ll face Pachuca again in Group H, after the Mexicans scooped the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup (formerly the Champions League). At 35, Salomon Rondon is still plugging away up top for them.
Saudi champs and 2021 AFC Champions League winners Al Hilal are here, too, bringing Ruben Neves, Joao Cancelo, Aleksandar Mitrovic, Kalidou Koulibaly, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic et al.
Red Bull Salzburg took one of UEFA’s 12 spots as the 18th-best side in Europe, thanks to Liverpool, Barcelona, Sevilla, Napoli, Milan and their own sister club, RB Leipzig, all being ineligible. De-fault: the two sweetest words in the English language. They lost seven of their eight Champions League ties this season with a goal difference of -22 and no longer dominate the Austrian league, either. They did sign Lee Clark’s son, Bobby, in August (Olof Mellberg’s kid plays for them as well), but, taking on the world’s elite, it could be a long old summer for Salzburg – or, more likely, a short one.
FIFA’s first attempt to launch a global competition was similarly controversial – if only they’d played it in Tahiti, eh?
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