logo
What teams are in Club World Cup? Full list of participants in 2025 FIFA tournament

What teams are in Club World Cup? Full list of participants in 2025 FIFA tournament

USA Today10-06-2025
What teams are in Club World Cup? Full list of participants in 2025 FIFA tournament
Show Caption
Hide Caption
lionel-messi-fifa-club-world-cup-michelob-ultra-TV-commercial
Soccer superstar Lionel Messi appears in a new Michelob Ultra TV commercia for the FIFA Club World Cup.
The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup is a radical departure for an event that for years existed as a seven-team tournament.
FIFA has created a 32-team event for 2025, with Europe's 12 berths by far the largest share among the six confederations that manage the sport on a continental level. Oceania, by contrast, will have just one representative, the same total that region held in the old format.
South America is next on the list with six participants, including four from Brazil (the most from one nation). By virtue of this year's tournament being held in the United States, Concacaf — the governing body for North and Central America as well as the Caribbean — is next up with five entrants, while Asia and Africa will get four apiece. MLS will be represented by three teams: the Seattle Sounders, Inter Miami, and LAFC.
Here is a breakdown of the full 32-team Club World Cup field sorted by confederation, as well as tournament groups for this year's event:
'CLUB WORLD CA$H GRAB': MLS players want fair share of Club World Cup prize money. Here's how one club protested.
What teams are in Club World Cup 2025?
With a long build-up for the Club World Cup ending with the tournament being used in part to hype soccer in general before the 2026 World Cup, FIFA couldn't just pull from continental championships conducted in 2024. With a 32-team field planned for the Club World Cup and the realities of different levels of quality from confederation to confederation, FIFA had to get creative to put together the final pool of teams for the first-ever Club World Cup on this scale.
Here is the full list of teams participating, broken down by confederation and with an explanation of how each team earned its berth:
Asian Football Confederation (AFC) - Four teams
Al-Hilal (Saudi Arabia): Winners of 2021 AFC Champions League
Urawa Red Diamonds (Japan): Winners of 2022 AFC Champions League
Al Ain (United Arab Emirates): Winners of 2023-24 AFC Champions League
Ulsan HD (Korea Republic): AFC club rankings
Confederation of African Football (CAF) - Four teams
Al-Ahly SC (Egypt): Winners of 2020-21 CAF Champions League (as well as 2023-23 and 2023-24)
Wydad AC (Morocco): Winners of 2021-22 CAF Champions League
Espérance de Tunis (Tunisia): CAF club rankings
Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa): CAF club rankings
Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) - Five teams
Monterrey (Mexico): Winners of 2021 Concacaf Champions League
Seattle Sounders (USA): Winners of 2022 Concacaf Champions League
Pachuca (Mexico): Winners of 2024 Concacaf Champions League
Inter Miami (USA): Host nation, winners of 2024 MLS Supporters Shield
LAFC (USA): Winners of play-in game*
*Note: Concacaf originally planned to send Club León, winners of the 2023 Concacaf Champions League, but the Club World Cup forbids multiple clubs owned by the same person or organization to participate. León and Pachuca are both owned by Grupo Pachuca, and FIFA eventually disqualified León from participating. LAFC (which lost to León in the 2023 Concacaf Champions League final) and Club América (the top eligible team in Concacaf's club rankings) were paired in a playoff that LAFC won, 2-1.
CLUB WORLD CUP: DAZN believes Club World Cup could be most streamed sporting event ever
Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol (CONMEBOL) - Six teams
Palmeiras (Brazil): Winners of 2021 Copa Libertadores
Flamengo (Brazil): Winners of the 2022 Copa Libertadores
Fluminense (Brazil): Winners of the 2023 Copa Libertadores
Botafogo (Brazil): Winners of the 2024 Copa Libertadores
River Plate (Argentina): CONMEBOL club rankings
Boca Juniors (Argentina): CONMEBOL club rankings
Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) - One team
Auckland City FC (New Zealand): Winners of the OFC Champions League in 2022, 2023, and 2024
Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) - 12 teams
Chelsea (England): Winners of the 2020-21 UEFA Champions League
Real Madrid (Spain): Winners of the 2021-22 UEFA Champions League (as well as the 2023-24 competition)
Manchester City (England): Winners of the 2022-23 UEFA Champions League
Bayern Munich (Germany): UEFA club rankings
Paris Saint-Germain (France): UEFA club rankings
Borussia Dortmund (Germany): UEFA club rankings
Inter Milan (Italy): UEFA club rankings
Porto (Portugal): UEFA club rankings
Atlético Madrid (spain): UEFA club rankings
Benfica (Portugal): UEFA club rankings
Juventus (Italy): UEFA club rankings
Red Bull Salzburg (Austria): UEFA club rankings
Club World Cup 2025 groups
The 32 teams in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup have been placed into eight groups of four, with a round-robin group stage serving as the tournament's first round. Here are the eight groups:
Group A
Al-Ahly (Egypt)
Porto (Portugal)
Palmeiras (Brazil)
Inter Miami (United States)
Group B
Paris Saint-Germain (France)
Atlético Madrid (Spain)
Botafogo (Brazil)
Seattle Sounders (United States)
Group C
Bayern Munich (Germany)
Auckland City (New Zealand)
Boca Juniors (Argentina)
Benfica (Portugal)
Group D
Espérance Sportive de Tunis (Tunisia)
Flamengo (Brazil)
Chelsea (England)
LAFC (United States)
Group E
River Plate (Argentina)
Urawa Red Diamonds (Japan)
Monterrey (Mexico)
Inter Milan (Italy)
Group F
Fluminense (Brazil)
Borussia Dortmund (Germany)
Ulsan HD (South Korea)
Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa)
Group G
Manchester City (England)
Wydad AC (Morocco)
Al Ain (United Arab Emirates)
Juventus (Italy)
Group H
Real Madrid (Spain)
Al-Hilal (Saudi Arabia)
Pachuca (Mexico)
Red Bull Salzburg (Austria)
Club World Cup 2025: How to watch, TV, streaming
Every one of the 63 games at the Club World Cup will stream for free on DAZN, while select matches will be carried on TNT in English.
Univision, TUDN, and ViX will all carry games in the U.S. in Spanish.
Watch the entire Club World Cup FREE on DAZN
The biggest stories, every morning. Stay up-to-date on all the key sports developments by subscribing to USA TODAY Sports' newsletter.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Why do we talk about CHAN 2024 when it's actually 2025?
Why do we talk about CHAN 2024 when it's actually 2025?

Yahoo

time8 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Why do we talk about CHAN 2024 when it's actually 2025?

Why do we talk about CHAN 2024 when it's actually 2025? Many fans are asking the same question: why is the tournament called CHAN 2024 when it's actually taking place in August 2025? In reality, the African Nations Championship (CHAN) was originally scheduled for September 2024. But due to an overloaded calendar, CAF was forced to postpone it. First rescheduled for February 2025, the tournament was eventually pushed back to August to give the host nations—Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania—more time to complete their preparations. Despite this change in date, the name has remained the same: CHAN 2024. This isn't a mistake. It's actually a common practice in sports. Euro 2020 was held in 2021, just like the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. AFCON 2023, for its part, was played at the start of 2024. The name doesn't change even if the schedule does. So CAF decided to stick with the original name for consistency in its communication and promotion. The takeaway? CHAN 2024 is the official name, even though the tournament will be played in 2025. What really matters is that African football will be there on the big stage.

Real Madrid summer signing set for a starting role ahead of club captain
Real Madrid summer signing set for a starting role ahead of club captain

Yahoo

time8 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Real Madrid summer signing set for a starting role ahead of club captain

Real Madrid roped in Trent Alexander-Arnold from Liverpool back in June, even paying a small compensation fee to Liverpool instead of waiting for his contract to expire so that he can play at the FIFA Club World Cup. Now, with Dani Carvajal having recovered from his ACL injury and back to full fitness, Real Madrid have a competition brewing in the right-back position heading into the new season. Trent to start, Carvajal will compete Now, according to AS, Trent Alexander-Arnold is expected to start the season in the starting XI for Real Madrid under manager Xabi Alonso. But how the situation will evolve over the coming months remains uncertain as Dani Carvajal is ready to challenge for his place. The coaching staff has accepted that rotations will be necessary, but eventually, one will play more. At present, no one inside the club dares to predict who will rack up more minutes over the season. Dani Carvajal has recovered from his ACL injury. (Photo by) In the short term, Trent appears to have the edge, but one can never count against Carvajal's experience, quality, and leadership. After all, before his injury, the Real Madrid captain was performing at an elite level. The two players offer contrasting profiles. Carvajal is clearly the stronger defender, with better positioning and one-on-one ability in attack. Yet the coaching staff greatly appreciate the technical qualities that Trent brings to transitions. In Alonso's system, full-backs are expected to function like midfielders – a role that suits Trent more naturally than Carvajal. His contribution to build-up play is highly valued. So, heading into the new season, Trent is set to feature as the starting right-back in Alonso's team, but Carvajal will be pushing hard to reclaim his spot.

Lionel Messi's bodyguard banned from Leagues Cup after entering field in postgame confrontation
Lionel Messi's bodyguard banned from Leagues Cup after entering field in postgame confrontation

Yahoo

time15 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Lionel Messi's bodyguard banned from Leagues Cup after entering field in postgame confrontation

Lionel Messi's bodyguard Yassine Cheuko apparently took his job a little too seriously at the Leagues Cup. After a postgame confrontation in which Cheuko ran onto the field to push some Atlas players away from the Inter Miami star, the League Cup disciplinary committee announced it was banning him from all technical areas for the rest of the tournament, which runs through Aug. 31, and fining Inter Miami an undisclosed amount of money. The full statement: After the July 30 Inter Miami CF vs. Club Atlas match, a member of Inter Miami's club delegation displayed improper conduct by entering restricted areas without an official event credential. In accordance with the Leagues Cup 2025 Tournament Regulations, the Disciplinary Committee has suspended the individual involved from all technical areas for the remainder of Leagues Cup 2025 and issued an undisclosed fine to Inter Miami CF. ESPN identified the member of Inter Miami's delegation as Cheuko. The incident occurred on Wednesday after Inter Miami's 2-1 win over Atlas. Several players congregated at midfield, with Cheuko entering the fray to physically break up the confrontation. He is the bald man with a short beard and black Miami T-shirt in the video below. Atlas players were not happy about Cheuko's intervention, with defender Matheus Doria calling for the rules to be applied in this case via ESPN: "We already know that our board works very well and will take care of the issue. I understand that Messi's bodyguard is there to protect Messi from a possible entry by a fan, I don't know, but between players, he doesn't have that permission," said Doria. "It's not up to us to say much or give our opinion on the matter, but the board and those in charge of the Leagues Cup have already seen it and will take charge of what can and can't be done because as long as it protects not only Messi but the other players, and the physical integrity of the players who are there, that's fine. But if it's for other issues, no one will agree, but it's not up to me to do anything." Cheuko has been a fixture at Messi's side since his days at Paris Saint-Germain. Contrary to past reports, he is not a former Navy SEAL or professional MMA fighter, but he has entered the field in the past to protect the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner. In April, Inter Miami banned Cheuko from being on the sidelines during MLS matches, though he remains an employee of the team.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store