The inaugural edition of the revamped Club World Cup launches next summer and today sees the group stage draw take place.
The expanded tournament now features 32 teams and will run for a month, across June and July, across the United States.
Chelsea have qualified by virtue of recently winning the Champions League and are set for a relatively kind draw given their Pot 2 seeding.
So, who can Chelsea face in the 2025 Club World Cup group stage? We explain it all below…
Chelsea could face River Plate
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Who can Chelsea face in 2025 Club World Cup?
Chelsea have been put into seeding Pot 2, which is a good thing as they will avoid facing a fellow European giant in the group stage.
FIFA have ruled that no group could have more than one team from the same confederation, apart from UEFA who have 12 teams to fit into eight groups.
That means four of the eight groups at the tournament will feature two UEFA teams, but Chelsea will not be among them.
FIFA have deemed that the fifth- to eighth-best-ranked UEFA teams will instead be drawn against the the four best CONMEBOL teams.
So, Chelsea will be drawn against one of Flamengo, Palmeiras, River Plate or Fluminense.
Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami are another possible opponent
USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con
That also ruled out the CONMEBOL teams in Pot 3 – which are Boca Juniors, Botafogo – so Chelsea will also get one of Al Ahly, Al-Hilal, Leon, Monterrey, Ulsan HD or Wydad AC.
The Pot 4 opponent is wide open, so will be one of Al Ain, Auckland City, Esperance de Tunis, Inter Miami, Mamelodi Sundowns, Pachuca, Seattle Sounders or Urawa Red Diamonds.
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 FIFA+, FIFA’s streaming service.
You can also follow the draw with Standard Sport’s dedicated LIVE blog!
