The controversial and often maligned FIFA Club World Cup group stage draw took place yesterday in Miami, with teams from across the different footballing federations finding out who their opponents will be in the first version of the new 32 team expanded tournament.
In typical FIFA fashion, the event itself was convoluted, overly complex and trying to provide entertainment where it simply wasn’t needed. Despite protests from clubs and players about the amount of matches that need to be played, this tournament is happening, so let’s take a look at group draw.
Group A: Palmeiras, FC Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami
Group B: Paris St-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle Sounders
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica
Group D: Flamengo, Esperance Sportive de Tunisie, Chelsea, Club Leon
Group E: River Plate, Urawa Red Diamonds, Monterrey, Inter Milan
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg
A version of the Club World Cup has been held on an annual basis since the early 2000’s with European teams unsurprisingly dominating with 16 victories out of a total of 20 tournaments with South American teams winning on the other four occasions. With 5 titles, Real Madrid are the most successful team in Club World Cup history and we wouldn’t be surprised to see the current La Liga and Champions League holders lifting the inaugural version of the expanded version of the Club World Cup.
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