Club World Cup: Inter in Pot 2, all the rules of the draw

FIFA has confirmed the procedures and pots for the FIFA Club World Cup draw. The competition will be held in the USA in the summer of 2025. Inter are one of 12 European sides participating in the tournament and have been inserted into the second pot.

The draw will be held on Thursday 5 December in Miami at 19:00 CET, broadcast live on the official Nerazzurri channels. Fans can follow the draw in Miami on Inter TV, inter.it, the official app and Club YouTube channel. The stream will begin at 18:50 CET, we’ll live from our studio in Appiano Gentile with info on the competition, scenes from Miami and an analysis of Inter’s possible opposition.

POT ALLOCATION

Pot 1: Manchester City (ENG), Real Madrid C. F. (ESP), FC Bayern München (GER), Paris Saint-Germain (FRA), CR Flamengo (BRA), SE Palmeiras (BRA), CA River Plate (ARG), Fluminense FC (BRA)

Pot 2: Chelsea FC (ENG), Borussia Dortmund (GER), FC Internazionale Milano (ITA), FC Porto (POR), Atlético de Madrid (ESP), SL Benfica (POR), Juventus FC (ITA), FC Salzburg (AUT)

Pot 3: Al Hilal (KSA), Ulsan HD (KOR), Al Ahly FC (EGY), Wydad AC (MAR), CF Monterrey (MEX), Club León (MEX), CA Boca Juniors (ARG), Botafogo (BRA)

Pot 4: Urawa Red Diamonds (JPN), Al Ain FC (UAE), Espérance Sportive de Tunisie (TUN), Mamelodi Sundowns FC (RSA), CF Pachuca (MEX), Seattle Sounders FC (USA), Auckland City FC (NZL), Inter Miami CF (USA)

DRAW PROCEDURES

The Club World Cup follows the classic structure but with 32 sides divided into eight groups of four sides, with the top two sides from each group going to the round of 16.

The qualified clubs have been allocated to four pots of eight teams each, with the respective confederation rankings used to allocate them to a pot accordingly.

Pot 1 consists of the four highest-ranked teams from Europe together with the four highest-ranked teams from South America, while pot 2 consists of the remaining eight teams from Europe. Inter are in pot 2.

Pot 3 consists of the two highest-ranked teams respectively from Asia, Africa, and the North, Central America and Caribbean region, alongside South America’s two remaining clubs, while pot 4 consists of the two remaining teams respectively from Asia, Africa, and the North, Central America and Caribbean region, alongside Oceania’s representative and the team representing the host country – Inter Miami CF.

INTER'S SITUATION

Given the pot allocation and the regulations from FIFA (below in this article), Inter are sure to avoid the UEFA sides in pot 1 whilst they will definitely face one of the South American sides in pot 1: so, their opposition could be Flamengo, Palmeiras, River Plate or Fluminense.

By drawing an Argentinian or Brazilian side, the Nerazzurri could avoid one of the sides in pot 3: either Botafogo (if pot 1 draws a Brazilian group) or Boca Juniors (if River Plate is drawn) or both, given the general principle for the draw: "to ensure, whenever possible, that no group has more than one team from the same confederation drawn into it".

DRAW CONSTRAINTS

The general principle is that no group can feature more than one team from the same confederation except UEFA (Europe): therefore, four of the eight groups will feature two European clubs.

A paired seeding principle based on the confederation rankings will be applied to the teams of pot 1 when allocating their respective groups. Other constraints will dictate that clubs from the same member association cannot be grouped together and all clubs from pot 1 will be allocated to the first position of the group into which they are drawn.

Additionally, for scheduling purposes, both clubs from the USA – Inter Miami CF and Seattle Sounders FC – will be automatically allocated to fourth position in groups A and B respectively. Inter Miami CF will play in the opening match of the tournament at Hard Rock Stadium, Miami, while the Sounders will open their campaign at Lumen Field, Seattle, soon afterwards.

THE DRAW IN DETAIL The 32 qualified teams have been allocated to four pots of eight teams each. The respective confederation rankings for the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 were used to determine the ranking of each team within their confederation and to allocate them to a pot accordingly.

Pot 1

• The four highest-ranked teams from UEFA (UEFA 1-4)

• The four highest-ranked teams from CONMEBOL (CONMEBOL 1-4)

Pot 2

• The remaining eight teams from UEFA (UEFA 5-12)

Pot 3

• The two highest-ranked teams from the AFC (AFC 1-2)

• The two highest-ranked teams from CAF (CAF 1-2)

• The two highest-ranked teams from Concacaf (Concacaf 1-2)

• The remaining two teams from CONMEBOL (CONMEBOL 5-6)

Pot 4

• The remaining two teams from the AFC (AFC 3-4)

• The remaining two teams from CAF (CAF 3-4)

• The remaining two teams from Concacaf (Concacaf 3-4)

• The team from the OFC (OFC 1)

• The team from the host country (Host 1)

GENERAL PRINCIPLES FOR THE DRAW

1. FIFA’s general principle is to ensure, whenever possible, that no group has more than one team from the same confederation drawn into it. This applies to all confederations except UEFA, which is represented by 12 teams. Each group must have at least one but no more than two UEFA teams drawn into it. Thus, four out of the eight groups will consist of two UEFA teams.

2. Teams from the same member association cannot be drawn into the same group.

3. In the interest of ensuring competitive balance, two separate pathways of four groups each have been established. Pathway 1 consists of the winners of groups A, C, E and G paired with the runners-up of groups B, D, F and H. Pathway 2 consists of the winners of groups B, D, F and H paired with the runners-up of groups A, C, E and G. UEFA teams 1-2 and CONMBEBOL teams 1-2 will be allocated to groups in separate pathways and will only meet in the semi-finals if they win their groups. The same principle will also apply to UEFA teams 3-4 and CONMEBOL teams 3-4.

4. UEFA teams 1-4 will be drawn into groups that will prevent them from meeting each other before the semi-finals in the event that they all win their respective groups. The same principle will also apply to CONMEBOL teams 1-4

5. All teams drawn from team pot 1 will be automatically allocated to position 1 of the group they are drawn into

6. Teams from team pot 2 will be drawn as follows: UEFA teams 5-8 will be drawn into groups with CONMEBOL teams 1-4, while UEFA teams 9-12 will be drawn into groups with UEFA teams 1-4.

7. As the teams from the host country and for scheduling purposes, Inter Miami CF will be automatically allocated to position 4 in Group A, while Seattle Sounders FC will be automatically allocated to position 4 in Group B when they are drawn from team pot 4.

8. Consequently, teams drawn into Group A or Group B will automatically take the position corresponding to the team pot from which they are drawn. Therefore, the team from team pot 2 will be allocated to position 2 and the team from team pot 3 will be allocated to position 3. This will apply only to Group A and Group B.

DRAW PROCEDURE

1. The four pots containing the teams are labelled 1 to 4. In each team pot there are eight balls, with each ball containing the name of a qualified team.

2. After all of the teams from team pot 1 have been drawn, the draw will continue by drawing all of the teams from team pots 2, 3 and 4. A ball will be drawn from the group pot to determine the position in the group (only applies to group C to H).

3. The draw will conclude once all teams from team pot 4 have been drawn.

THE SCHEDULE

The FIFA Club World Cup will be played in the USA from 15 June to 13 July 2025.

The full match schedule comprising the stadium and kick-off time for each fixture will be finalised and published once the draw has taken place, taking into account a range of factors including sporting and player-centric criteria, local and travelling fans and global broadcast considerations.

QUALIFIED TEAMS FOR CLUB WORLD CUP

AFRICA – 4 teams Via champions pathway (CAF Champions League) – 2 teams 2020/21, 2022/23 and 2023/24: Al Ahly SC (EGY) 2021/22: Wydad AC (MAR) Via ranking pathway – 2 teams Espérance Sportive de Tunis (TUN) Mamelodi Sundowns FC (ZA)

ASIA – 4 teams Via champions pathway (AFC Champions League) – 3 teams 2021: Al Hilal SFC (KSA) 2022: Urawa Red Diamonds (JPN) 2023/24: Al-Ain (UAE) Via ranking pathway – 1 team Ulsan Hyundai (JPN)

EUROPE – 12 teams Via champions pathway (UEFA Champions League) – 4 teams 2020/21: Chelsea FC (ENG) 2021/22 and 2023/24: Real Madrid CF (ESP) 2022/23: Manchester City FC (ENG) Via ranking pathway – 9 teams FC Bayern München (GER) Paris Saint-Germain FC (FRA) FC Internazionale Milano (ITA) FC Porto (POR) SL Benfica (POR) Borussia Dortmund (GER) Club Atlético de Madrid (SPA) Fußballclub Red Bull Salzburg (AUS)

NORTH & CENTRAL AMERICA, CARIBBEAN – 4 teams Via champions pathway (Concacaf Champions Cup) 2021: CF Monterrey (MEX) 2022: Seattle Sounders FC (USA) 2023: Club León (MEX) 2024: Club de Fútbol Pachuca (MEX)

OCEANIA – 1 team Via ranking pathway Auckland City FC (NZL)

SOUTH AMERICA – 6 teams Via champions pathway (CONMEBOL Libertadores) – 4 teams 2021: SE Palmeiras (BRA) 2022: CR Flamengo (BRA) 2023: Fluminense FC (BRA) 2024: Botafogo (BRA) Via ranking pathway – 2 teams River Plate (ARG) Boca Juniors (ARG)

The final slot is allocated to a club from the host country.

THE STADIUMS

Here are the 12 stadiums that will host the 63 games of the tournament in the USA: Mercedes-Benz Stadium – Atlanta, GA TQL Stadium – Cincinnati, OH Bank of America Stadium – Charlotte, NC Rose Bowl Stadium – Los Angeles, CA Hard Rock Stadium – Miami, FL GEODIS Park – Nashville, TN MetLife Stadium – New Jersey (final) Camping World Stadium – Orlando, FL Inter&Co Stadium – Orlando, FL Lincoln Financial Field – Philadelphia, PA Lumen Field – Seattle, WA Audi Field – Washington, D.C.