Lionel Messi and Inter Miami will open this year’s Club World Cup against Egyptian side Al Ahly, while Kylian Mbappé and Neymar will compete for Real Madrid and Al-Hilal.

Premier League champions Manchester City face Juventus, Moroccan club Wydad AC and United Arab Emirates’ Al Ain in the first group stage of the controversial Fifa tournament, while Chelsea face Brazilian giants Flamengo, Mexico’s Club Leon and Esperance Tunis.

The new 32-team competition, to be played in the United States next summer, has been endorsed by Fifa president Gianni Infantino – but is the subject of two legal challenges in Europe, both involving the players’ union Fifpro. The draw for the competition took place on Thursday in Miami.

City and Chelsea qualified as Champions League winners in 2023 and 2021 respectively, but were kept separate in the group stage draw due to Fifa’s complicated regional restrictions.

Pep Guardiola’s side will play Casablanca’s Wydad in their opening Group G match before taking on Al Ain and taking on Italian giants Juventus. Chelsea starts in Group D against Club Leon, then plays against Flamengo and Esperance Tunis. Should both English clubs advance to the knockout rounds as group winners, they would compete against each other and only meet in the final.

The tournament will be held in the United States from June 15 to July 13 at 12 stadiums in 11 different cities. The final will take place at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, the same stadium that will host the 2026 World Cup final.

Messi’s Inter Miami, representing the host country, has the honor of playing the first game at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens.

“It’s about inclusivity, it’s about bringing together clubs from all over the world, the 32 best clubs and best players from all over the world,” Infantino said on Thursday.

Inter Miami’s selection was heavily criticized by critics, who saw the team’s inclusion as a way to push Messi into the tournament. The criticism only intensified when Miami was eliminated in the opening round of that season’s MLS playoffs, despite finishing first in the regular season.

Major League Soccer has two teams in the tournament: Seattle and Inter Miami. The Sounders qualified as winners of the 2022 Concacaf Champions League and Inter Miami as the host country’s representative.

“There is no rule that says the MLS Cup winner has to play in the Club World Cup,” MLS commissioner Don Garber said. “I have no interest in anything other than what I think is best for the show, what’s best for our league. I support FIFA’s decision and look forward to bringing Miami and Seattle into a global media deal and being shown around the world.”

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Other opening games include Paris Saint-Germain against Atlético Madrid and Brazilian side Botafogo, playing in Seattle in Group B, and Real Madrid against Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal in Group H – a showdown of superstars, with Mbappé for Real Madrid and Neymar for Al-Hilal.

The club competition is based on the traditional 32-team format used in the World Cup from 1998 to 2022. Eight round-robin groups of four teams were drawn on Thursday, with the top two finishers in each group advancing to the knockout rounds.

Europe received 12 spots and South America six, while Africa, Asia and North America received four spots each – with Inter Miami essentially getting a fifth from North America because it has host status. Oceania got a place.

Groups for the 2025 Club World Cup

Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.

Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atlético Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.

Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.

Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.

Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Internazionale.

Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.

Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.

Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.