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HI DAVID LUIZ (hopefully)
The draw for the first edition of the newly redesigned, quadrennial, greatly expanded FIFA Club World Cup was held earlier today (Thursday), with Chelsea seeded only in Pot 2 among the 32 total qualified teams.
Despite that, we managed to avoid any of the other European teams, which makes this whole thing a bit more fun. Three new teams to add to our list of teams faced: Flamengo (Pot 1), Club León (Pot 3), and Espérance de Tunis (Pot 4), who are the only team in the group to not qualify by actually winning the respective continental trophy. Flamengo won the 2022 Copa Libertadores while León won the 2023 CONCACAF Champions League. (And we’re in this because of the 2021 Champions League.)
Hopefully the one and only David Luiz will still be kicking it for Flamengo!
Related
Much like the actual World Cup, this monthlong competition will start in mid-June and finish with the final on July 13. The United States will play host, largely on the east coast (boo!), with only Seattle and Los Angeles hosting any games west of the Mississippi. It’s not yet clear where exactly Chelsea’s three group games will be played, but that information should be finalized soon.
In any case, here are the eight groups for what will either be somewhat interesting, or a complete waste of time, resources, and player welfare.
GROUP A: Palmeiras, FC Porto, Al-Ahly, Inter Miami
GROUP B: PSG, Atlético Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle Sounders
GROUP C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica
GROUP D: Flamengo, Tunis, CHELSEA, León
GROUP E: River Plate, Urawa Red Diamonds, CF Monterrey, Inter Milan
GROUP F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan HD, Mamelodi Sundowns
GROUP G: Manchester City, Wydad AC, Al-Ain, Juventus
GROUP H: Real Madrid, Al-Hilal, CF Pachuca, FC Salzburg
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