FIFA Club World Cup: City's Stateside connections | OneFootball

The FIFA Club World Cup 2025 is fast approaching, with City set for the United States this June to compete in the newly expanded tournament.

In a format similar to recent international World Cups, we'll face Moroccan club Wydad AC, UAE-based Al Ain and Italian giants Juventus in a four-team group.

The top two will progress to the Round of 16, where it's straight knockout ties to decide the inaugural champion.

It promises to be a memorable few weeks with City having become regular and extremely popular visitors to the United States over the past decade or so.

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However, the links between City and the USA extend much further back – and there is a rich back story of former City players who have gone on to make a considerable impact playing in the Land of the Free.

A pioneer in that respect and true trailblazer in helping spread the appeal of the beautiful game to North America was Club legend Dennis Tueart.

The former England winger, who also went on to enjoy an acclaimed spell as Club director after his playing days, sandwiched two memorable spells at City with a hugely successful two-year period at New Year Cosmos in the late 1970s.

The highest profile English player to ply his trade in the then nascent North American Soccer League, Tueart was arguably at the peak of his powers when he moved to New York.

And he was to prove a major figure, helping a star-studded Cosmos side featuring the likes of the late, great Franz Beckenbauer alongside Italian legend Georgio Chingalia to successive Soccer Bowl triumphs in both 1978 and 1979 as well as being voted Most Valuable Player.

More high-profile figures were to follow in Tueart’s wake and experience life in the States during the 1980s.

Amongst the most notable during that decade from a City perspective were Club legend Joe Corrigan.

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At what was the tail end of a hugely successful career that over three decades saw him become City’s second all-time appearance maker, the former England goalkeeper left Maine Road to join Seattle Sounders in 1983.

There he went on to make 29 league appearances for the West Coast side before ending his career back in England just over a year later.

Seattle was also the destination, albeit for a loan spell, for Scottish winger Tommy Hutchison before he made the move to link up with Corrigan and City in 1981.

Hutchison, who went on to enjoy a nomadic career featuring for a host of clubs, then became the central figure in the  1981 centenary FA Cup final against Spurs, famously scoring at both ends in the 1-1 draw before City then agonisingly lost out 3-2 in the replay five days later.

Meanwhile, Kazimierz Deyna, the Polish midfield superstar who spent just over two years at City in the late 1970s, followed up an appearance alongside City icon Mike Summerbee in the popular Hollywood film Escape to Victory by embarking on another bold challenge, moving to join San Diego Sockers in early 1981 where he would spend the following six years.

However, there was to be a tragic postscript to the Polish legend’s time in America with Kaziu tragically losing his life in a car accident Stateside in 1989 at the age of just 41.

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More latterly, the successful resurgence of the Major Soccer League in the early 2000s subsequently saw it become a magnet for a host of familiar faces from these shores – many with strong City connections.

None more so than the Wright-Phillips siblings Bradley and Shaun.

Bradley, the younger brother of Shaun Wright-Phillips, figured for City between 2004 and 2006 making 40 appearances in total before going on to feature for Southampton, Charlton, Plymouth and Brentford.

However, it’s fair to say his career really took full flight once he made the move to America in 2013 to join New York Red Bulls.

Over the course of six years in the Big Apple, Bradley became an MLS superstar, going on to become a two-time MLS Golden Boot winner as well as being the Red Bulls’ all-time leading scorer and helping the Club win three Supporters Shield successes.

After a brief spell with Los Angeles FC, more success followed with a move to Columbus Crew whom Bradley helped to lift the Campeones Cup in 2021 prior to his retirement from the game.

Shaun of course established himself as a bona fide City legend across two memorable spells at the Club between 1999 and 2011.

And SWP – now an acclaimed pundit - then followed in the footsteps of bother Bradley by crossing the pond and spent the twilight of his illustrious career playing for first New York Red Bulls in the MLS in 2015 before finishing his playing days with United Soccer League outfit Phoenix Rising in 2017.

Nedum Onuoha – another famed former City star, now enjoying a formidable career as a highly respected pundit and analyst – was another to transfer his skills across to the MLS.

After making more than 100 appearances for City between 2004 and 2012, the defender went on to spend six years at Queens Park Rangers before then embarking on a new adventure Stateside with MLS outfit Real Salt Lake in 2018 spending two years in Utah before retiring in 2020.

Amongst the many others to have bridged the gap between City and America, Frank Lampard too experienced a memorable career finale in the USA.

The ex-England midfielder spent two years playing with New York City FC after a successful season at City which brought the curtain down on his glittering Premier League career in 2014/15

Now the spotlight will be focused on City’s current generation as we gear up for our first competitive matches on the continent with tickets available for all games.

There's no doubt more memories will be made to further solidify the close connection between City and the United States.

How to follow the FIFA Club World Cup 2025

DAZN will broadcast every minute from the event, with all 63 matches, live-streamed, free to view on DAZN globally, and in multiple languages.

If you are already a DAZN subscriber or Freemium member, then the competition is part of your current membership.

To sign up for a free DAZN account now you only need an email address to register, with no hidden costs or fees.

You can then watch all the action on the DAZN App via smart TVs, smartphones, tablets, streaming devices, game consoles and web browsers.

Join now to be ready to watch DAZN’s coverage for free.

Every City match will be covered in full across mancity.com and our official app, with our usual offering of a Matchday Centre and Matchday Live followed by a match report, written and video reaction and highlights from the US.