FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Premier League - Manchester City v Southampton - Etihad Stadium, Manchester, Britain - October 26, 2024 Manchester City's Erling Haaland celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates Action Images via Reuters/Lee Smith/File Photo
(Reuters) - Premier League champions Manchester City will begin their 2025 Club World Cup campaign with a match against Wydad AC at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on June 18 next year, world soccer governing body FIFA said on Saturday.
The Club World Cup, featuring top teams from around the world, will be held in 12 stadiums across the U.S. from June 14-July 13 and serve as a dress rehearsal for the 2026 World Cup co-hosted by the U.S., Mexico and Canada.
City, who won the most recent Club World Cup in 2023 under the old format, will take on Al Ain four days after their opener, before facing Serie A side Juventus in their final Group G game on June 26.
The opening match of the expanded 32-team tournament will see Lionel Messi and Major League Soccer's Inter Miami face Al Ahly in Group A.
The match will take place at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Florida, and will be the only fixture played on June 14.
"This match schedule is much more than a list of thrilling fixtures involving the best clubs in the world – it shows that club football can, and will be, truly global," FIFA President Gianni Infantino said.
Among the other opening group fixtures, Ligue 1 club Paris St Germain face LaLiga's Atletico Madrid in a mouthwatering Group B clash on June 15, while German heavyweights Bayern Munich take on Auckland City on the same day in Group C.
European champions Real Madrid will face Al-Hilal in Group H on June 18.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
