Superstar Lionel Messi will play in the Club World Cup series opener next year with Inter Miami. (AP PHOTO)
Superstar Lionel Messi will play in the Club World Cup series opener next year with Inter Miami. (AP PHOTO) Credit: AAP
The great Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami outfit will open the Club World Cup against Egyptian side Al Ahly, giving the newly expanded event a big blast-off when it's held in the US next year.
English Premier League champions Manchester City were drawn in Group G alongside Italian giants Juventus, Wydad AC and Al Ain when the 32-team draw was made on Thursday in Miami.
The tournament, featuring top teams from around the world, will be held in 12 stadiums around the country from June 15-July 13 and serve as a dress rehearsal for the 2026 World Cup co-hosted by the US, Mexico and Canada.
Man City won the most recent Club World Cup in 2023 under the old format and sit fourth in the Premier League after being hit hard by injuries to key players such as Spanish midfielder and Ballon d'Or winner Rodri.
City, who this year won an unprecedented fourth straight English top-flight title, will face Morocco's Wydad AC in their opening match and the UAE's Al Ain before closing out the group stage in one of the marquee matchups against Juve.
Messi's Inter Miami get the distinction of playing the first match at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens.
Clearly, the tournament does not feature the 32 "best" clubs in the world, with Inter Miami's selection widely panned by critics, the volume of that only rising after the team that won the Supporters Shield as the best MLS team in the regular season - with a record-setting points total - lost in the first round of the MLS Cup playoffs.
The best opening matchups include Paris Saint-Germain against Atletico Madrid, Mexico's Monterrey against Inter Milan in group E, and Real Madrid facing Saudi club Al-Hilal in group H - a showdown of superstars with Kylian Mbappe for Real 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 Thursday, with the top two from each group advancing to a knockout bracket of 16.
The Club World Cup groups:
Group A:
Palmeiras (CONMEBOL, Brazil), Porto (UEFA, Portugal), Al Ahly (CAF Champions League winners, Egypt), Inter Miami (MLS Supporters' Shield winners, USA)
Group B:
Paris St Germain (UEFA, France), Atletico Madrid (UEFA, Spain), Botafogo (2024 Copa Libertadores winners, Brazil), Seattle Sounders (CONCACAF, USA)
Group C:
Bayern Munich (UEFA, Germany), Auckland City (2024 OFC Champions League winners, NZ), Boca Juniors (CONMEBOL, Argentina), Benfica (UEFA, Portugal)
Group D:
Flamengo (CONMEBOL, Brazil), Esperance (CAF, Tunisia), Chelsea (UEFA, England), Leon (2023 CONCACAF Champions League winners, Mexico)
Group E:
River Plate (CONMEBOL, Argentina), Urawa Red Diamonds (AFC, Japan), Monterrey (CONCACAF, Mexico), Inter Milan (UEFA, Italy)
Group F:
Fluminense (2023 Copa Libertadores winners, Brazil), Borussia Dortmund (UEFA, Germany), Ulsan HD (AFC, South Korea), Mamelodi Sundowns (CAF, South Africa)
Group G:
Manchester City (2023 Club World Cup champions, England), Wydad AC (CAF, Morocco), Al Ain (2023–24 AFC Champions League winners, UAE), Juventus (UEFA, Italy)
Group H:
Real Madrid (2023-24 UEFA Champions League winners, Spain), Al-Hilal (AFC, Saudi Arabia), Pachuca (2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup winners, Mexico), Red Bull Salzburg (UEFA, Austria).
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