Club World Cup/ Schedules, formula and group divisions! Everything you need to know about the tournament

The Club World Cup begins today (June 14) in the United States of America (June 15 Albanian time), with 32 teams competing for the title in the new expanded intercontinental club competition.

The 32 teams are divided into eight groups of four, which will play each other. The top two teams from each group will then advance to the knockout stages.

Unlike World Cups, the Club World Cup will not have a third-place play-off (small final).

The 21st edition of the tournament kicks off in the United States on Saturday (Sunday at 2:00 a.m. ET) with the tournament's opening match between Inter Miami and Egyptian club Al Ahly at the Hard Rock Stadium in Florida. Manchester City are the defending champions, having won the last tournament in December 2023.

12 teams have qualified from Europe: Inter, Juventus, Manchester City, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint Germain, Porto, Benfica, Borussia Dortmund, Atletico Madrid and Salzburg.

Club World Cup groups:

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

Group B: Paris Saint Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafago, Seattle Sounders

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

Group D: Flamengo, Chelsea, Club Leon, Espereanca de Tunis

Group E: River Plate, Inter, Monterrey, Uraua Red Diamonds

Group F: Fluminense, Dortmund, Ulsan HD, Mamelodi

Group G: Manchester City, Juventus, Uydad, Al Ain

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

This year's edition on American soil will be the first in the tournament's history to include 32 clubs, the same number of teams as in the last FIFA World Cups.

Why are Chelsea and Inter Miami participating and Barcelona and Liverpool out of the Club World Cup?

FIFA's Club World Cup rules stipulate that only two teams from each country can play in the tournament, and the participation of European clubs was decided by their performances in the Champions League over the past four seasons.

Man City (2023) and Chelsea (2021) won the Champions League during that four-year window, taking both places. Other well-known clubs such as Napoli, Milan, Barcelona, ​​RB Leipzig and Sevilla also missed out due to UEFA's four-year club coefficient ranking and two-team restrictions.

Where will the Club World Cup matches be played?

The 63 matches will be played in 12 stadiums in 11 cities. The opening match, Al Ahly against Inter Miami, will be played at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, which has a capacity of 65,000 spectators.

MetLife Stadium, home to the New York Giants and New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL), will host both the semifinals and the final. MetLife is an 82,500-seat stadium and was also selected as the venue for the 2026 World Cup final.

The 'Rose Bowl' in Pasadena (California), better known as a stadium for American college football games, is the largest stadium with a capacity of 88,500 seats.

It is no stranger to hosting major events. The Rose Bowl was the site of the gold medal soccer game at the 1984 Los Angeles Games, as well as the men's World Cup final a decade later. It will also be a site for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Here is the full list of stadiums:

MetLife Stadium (East Rutherford, New Jersey)

Hard Rock Stadium (Miami, Florida)

Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta, Georgia)

Lumen Field (Seattle, Washington)

Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte, North Carolina)

TQL Stadium (Cincinnati, Ohio)

Rose Bowl Stadium (Los Angeles, California)

GEODIS Park (Nashville, Tennessee)

Camping World Stadium (Orlando, Florida)

Inter&Co Stadium (Orlando, Florida)

Lincoln Field (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

When is the FIFA Club World Cup?

The competition will begin on June 14 (US time), with the final scheduled for July 13.

A summary of the schedule:

Group stage:  June 14 to 26

Round of 16:  June 28 to July 1

Quarterfinals: July 4 and 5

Semi-finals : July 8 and 9

First day matches (Albanian time):

02:00 (morning) Al Ahly – Inter Miami

18:00 Bayern Munich – Auckland City

21:00 PSG – Atletico Madrid

Happening now...

21:14 SPORT

Granit Xhaka at the center of the transfer market, Bayer Leverkusen director: We want to keep him!

Nga Evi Kokalari 20:58 EDITORIAL

"It will be your grave", that's why Rama blocked me on the phone!

Nga Evi Kokalari

20:55 POLITICS

Ceno Klosi "drowns" in the channels of the Strategists/ KLSH: Favored "Gjikuria" in the 4 million euro contract

20:50 BOTA

Russia tightens restrictions on digital platforms from "hostile states": WhatsApp should prepare to leave our market

20:32 HAPPENING NOW

"Open the door..." / The moment when the 23-year-old Albanian gets into a fight with the flight attendant, the plane makes an emergency landing

20:28 POLITICS

"We don't have the luxury of making sweeping, not unwritten orders", the mayor of Has comes out against Rama for the dismissals

20:22 SPORT

Linked to several European teams, Barcelona insists on Xavi Simons

20:09 HAPPENING NOW

"VIP" girls meet in prisons/ Journalist: A famous girl received 150 thousand euros for a week from a famous crime boss

20:05 BOTA

Tragedy in Belgium, baby dies, father forgot him in the car

20:00 BOTA

Mossad chief visits Washington, seeks US help in relocating Palestinians from Gaza

19:47 HAPPENING NOW

Tragjedi në Elbasan! Ishin duke ruajtur bagëtitë dhe u futën në lumë për t’u larë, mbyten dy fëmijë në Shkumbin! Detajet e para

19:33 KOSOVA

President Osmani meets with the leader of the Social Democratic Initiative on the eve of the new session for the constitution of the Kosovo Assembly

19:17 SPORT

Real Madrid decides on the Brazilian's future, "Vini" will be sold if he doesn't reduce his salary

19:01 HAPPENING NOW

Dead for 5 days/ Isa Rexhepaj's brother: They won't give me the body, let me do my last rites

Want to read more news