The group stage draw for the revamped Club World Cup draw takes shape tonight as defending champions Manchester City have discovered their potential opponents.
Under a new format featuring 32 teams, the tournament is scheduled for next summer with participants coming from the six confederations; UEFA, CONMEBOL, CONCACAF, CAF, AFC and OFC.
CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW THE CLUB WORLD CUP DRAW LIVE!
The draw will feature eight groups containing four teams, with no group permitted to have more than one team from the same confederation with the exception of UEFA. Furthermore, clubs from the same member association cannot be paired together.
Who can Man City face in 2025 Club World Cup?
City are confirmed to be in Pot 1 which means they will avoid being drawn alongside Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Flamengo, Palmeiras, River Plate, Fluminense.
Pot 2 contains Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund, Inter Milan, Porto, Atletico Madrid, Benfica, Juventus and FC Salzburg but Pep Guardiola’s side will avoid being paired with the best-ranked sides because of their seeding.
This means they will face one of Atletico Madrid, Benfica, Juventus or Salzburg as they are the four lowest-ranked UEFA teams in Pot 2.
No restrictions in Pot 3, which means City can be paired with one of Al Hilal, Ulsan HD, Al Ahly, Wydad Casablanca, Monterrey, Leon, Boca Juniors or Botafogo.
And finally, Pot 4 contains Urawa Red Diamonds, Al Ain, ES Tunis, Mamelodi Sundowns, Pachuca, Seattle Sounders, Auckland City and Lionel Messi's Inter Miami.
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Furthermore, FIFA’s draw regulations state UEFA and CONMEBOL teams ranked 1-4 will be drawn into groups which will prevent them meeting before the semi-finals, provided they win their respective groups.
For example, if City, Real Madrid, Bayern and PSG all win their groups, they will be separated until the semi-finals.
FIFA has given the tournament a new format to boost its profile, expanding the number of teams and the length from a couple of weeks in December to a month-long event in the summer across the United States.
How to watch the 2025 Club World Cup draw?
The group stage draw for the 2025 Club World Cup is on Thursday, December 5, 2024 at 6pm GMT.
The full draw will be broadcast for free across FIFA's channels, including the website and YouTube channel, and FIFA+, FIFA's streaming service, and DAZN.
You can also follow the draw with Standard Sport’s dedicated LIVE blog.
