2025 Club World Cup draw: Why Inter can’t get Man City or Madrid, contrary to Juve | OneFootball

Juventus and Inter are in Pot 2 in today’s 2025 Club World Cup draw, but the Nerazzurri, contrary to the Bianconeri, won’t be paired with a European club from Pot 1.

Serie A giants Inter and Juventus will represent Serie A at the 2025 Club World Cup, held in the USA from June 15 to July 13 next year.

Nerazzurri and Bianconeri will be placed in Pot 2 in today’s group stage draw, but Juventus will, on paper, face tougher opponents than their domestic rivals.

Why Inter won’t be paired with Man City or Madrid in 2025 Club World Cup draw

epa11742450 Inter Milan’s players celebrate the 1-0 lead during the UEFA Champions League between Inter Milan and RB Leipzig at the Giuseppe Meazza stadium in Milan, Italy, 26 November 2024. EPA-EFE/Daniel Dal Zennaro

In fact, the four best European clubs in Pot 2, including Inter, will be paired with one of the four South Americans in Pot 1, so they’ll also avoid Botafogo or Boca in Pot 3.

On the other hand, the remaining four European clubs in Pot 2 will be paired with a European club in Pot 1, so they can also get Botafogo or Boca from Pot 3.

“No group can feature more than one team from the same confederation,” FIFA explained.

“This applies to all confederations except UEFA (Europe), which will be represented by 12 clubs at the tournament. Therefore, four of the eight groups will feature two European clubs.”

Inter are in the same Pot as Juventus, but, as explained by Gazzetta, the Nerazzurri are placed higher in the ranking, which means they’ll be the only European club in their group. Inter’s potential opponents from Pot 1 are River, Palmeiras, Flamengo and Fluminense.

On the other hand, Juventus will get another club from the same continent, meaning they’ll be paired with one between Manchester City, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich or PSG from Pot 1.

FIFA 2025 Club World Cup draw pots

Pot 1: Manchester City, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, PSG, Flamengo, Palmeiras, River Plate, Fluminense

Pot 2: Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund, Inter, FC Porto, Atletico Madrid, Benfica, Juventus, RB Salzburg

Pot 3: Al-Hilal, Ulsan HD, Al Ahli, Wydad Casablanca, Monterrey, Leon, Boca Juniors, Botafogo

Pot 4: Urawa Red Diamonds, Al-Ain, ES Tunis, Mamelodi Sundowns, Pachuca, Seattle Sounders, Auckland City, Inter Miami