Two European heavyweights, Manchester City and Juventus, will face Moroccan heavyweights Wydad Casablanca and Middle Eastern side Al-Ain in a tempting Group G of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025. Undoubtedly, Pep Guardiola’s side is the best team in this group, despite their struggles in the past season, but others won’t just allow them to sleepwalk through the group. The Group G games will start on 18 June 2025, three days after the tournament’s curtain raiser, with Philadelphia, Washington, Orlando and Atlanta chosen as venues. The winners of the group will face the runners-up of Group H in the Round of 16 and vice versa.
Group G Teams: FIFA Club World Cup 2025
Group G sets the stage for a thrilling showdown as European heavyweights Manchester City and Juventus face off against African giants Wydad Casablanca and AFC champions Al-Ain. With only two spots up for grabs in the knockouts, expect fierce battles and no easy wins when the action kicks off on June 18 across U.S. cities.
Manchester City
The Club World Cup holders, Manchester City, qualified for the new expanded version of the competition this summer by winning their first UEFA Champions League title in 2023. The English giants have won titles season after season under their Spanish genius Pep Guardiola, but the previous one did not go according to their usual plan. A huge fall-off from their levels saw them lose their four-year Premier League dominance to Liverpool with a 13-point deficit, suffer an early exit from the Champions League and were also beaten in the FA Cup final by minnows Crystal Palace. Guardiola has never gone trophyless since his debut season at the club, which gave a shakeup that led to the team making some stunning signings, all included for the competition and also to replace their club icon Kevin De Bruyne, who departed this summer.
The new arrivals, Tijjani Reijnders, Rayan Cherki and Rayan Aït-Nouri, alongside the new third-choice keeper, Marcus Bettinelli, in the special transfer window, will be part of the squad, as well as Ballon d'Or winner Rodri, who is fit after an ACL injury which became a prime reason for City’s downfall in the past season. However, not everyone is in the mix with Kyle Walker and Kalvin Phillips, who spent time out on loan this season, are not in the squad, with the latter struck with an injury and also Jack Grealish registered just eight goal involvements in 2024-25, his second-lowest tally since his £100m move from Aston Villa four years ago. Such a disastrous campaign and the squad rebuild following it give enough reason for City to fight for this silverware seriously, where they want to be first champions of the 32-team format, having been the final winners of the previous format. The success, if achieved, will springboard the team to hit their incredible levels again in the new season.
Manchester City Club World Cup 2025 Squad
Goalkeepers: Stefan Ortega, Ederson, Marcus Bettinelli
Defenders: Ruben Dias, John Stones, Nathan Ake, Rayan Ait-Nouri, Vitor Reis, Josko Gvardiol, Manuel Akanji, Abdukodir Khusanov
Midfielders: Nico O’Reilly, Tijjani Reijnders, Jeremy Doku, Nico Gonzalez, Rodri, Ilkay Gundogan, Bernardo Silva, Savinho, Matheus Nunes, Rayan Cherki, Claudio Echeverri, Phil Foden, Rico Lewis
Forwards: Erling Haaland, Omar Marmoush, Oscar Bobb
Manager: Pep Guardiola
Juventus
Juventus beat Manchester City in the League Phase of the Champions League, but the situation was very different for both clubs when they met in December 2024. City improved a little bit, sealing Champions League football and while Bianconeri also took the top four spot in Serie A, it came after drifting from a title charge and a shock exit from Europe, leading to their manager Thiago Motta getting sacked. New boss Igor Tudor, who recently renewed his contract until 2027, steadied the ship under his watch and will hope to take the club back to its glory days, starting with the hunt for the Club World Cup 2025. The Old Lady of Turin is making their debut in the competition after being the 12th-best UEFA-ranked side in a four-year cycle, but there is no real expectation on the side, which might benefit them. Despite winning every game against City so far, Juventus are unlikely to win this group, with the second spot the likely option for them, depending on their showdown in the final group game against Guardiola’s side. There are a few players who are joining the club permanently and are included in the Club World Cup squad, defender Pierre Kalulu and Michele Di Gregorio, after completing their loan spells from Milan and Monza. Whereas, Nicolás González is included following his season on loan from Fiorentina. The future of striker Dušan Vlahović is under intense transfer speculation, but he is part of the team.
Juventus Club World Cup 2025 Squad
Goalkeepers: Carlo Pinsoglio, Michele Di Gregorio, Giovanni Daffara, Giovanni Garofani
Defenders: Alberto Costa, Bremer, Federico Gatti, Lloyd Kelly, Pierre Kalulu, Daniele Rugani, Andrea Cambiaso, Nicolò Savona, Jonas Rouhi, Javier Gil
Midfielders: Manuel Locatelli, Teun Koopmeiners, Weston McKennie, Vasilije Adžić, Filip Kostić, Khéphren Thuram, Douglas Luiz, Augusto Owusu, Stefano Turco
Forwards: Francisco Conceição, Dušan Vlahović, Kenan Yıldız, Nicolás González, Arkadiusz Milik, Randal Kolo Muani, Timothy Weah, Lorenzo Anghelè, Alessandro Pietrelli, Samuel Mbangula, Nicolò Cudrig, Tommaso Mancini
Manager: Igor Tudor
Wydad Casablanca
A big name in Moroccan club football, Wydad Casablanca, qualified for the Club World Cup 2025 after winning the 2021–22 CAF Champions League, defeating record winners Al Ahly and claiming their third continental honour. The success was monumental as they were the only club to prevent the Egyptian heavyweights from taking the CAF Champions League crown in the last five seasons. Nicknamed the ‘Club of the Nation’, they have lived up to their billing by winning the most titles in their region, including the league a record 22 times. Wydad also has Club World Cup experience, having appeared twice in the competition before and brings in a lot of pride and legacy to the contest. Despite that, Benhachem’s are unlucky to be put into a group with not one but two big guns of Europe and facing them back-to-back, starting the tournament against group favourites Manchester City. Wydad’s only realistic goal will be to avoid finishing at the bottom of the pile and show a performance that will encourage them to start the new season on a high. The team played two preparation friendlies for the tournament against Sevilla and Porto, conceding narrow 1-0 losses, even though they haven’t lost a competitive game this year. The new signings in the special transfer window, Bart Meijers, Stephane Aziz Ki and Guilherme Ferreira have been included in the squad.
Wydad Casablanca Club World Cup 2025 Squad
Goalkeepers: Omar Aqzdaou, Youssef El Motie, El Mehdi Benabid
Defenders: Fahad Moufi, Ayoub Bouchta, Bart Meijers, Abdelmounaim Boutouil, Jamal Harakass, Mohamed Moufid, Guilherme Ferreira
Midfielders: Ismail Moutaraji, Oussama Zemraoui, Mehdi Moubarik, Zakaria Fatihi, Thembinkosi Lorch, Stephane Aziz Ki, Ismael Benktib, Pedrinho, Arthur, Mickael Malsa
Forwards: Mohamed Rayhi, Samuel Obeng, Selemani Mwalimo, Cassisus Mailula, Nordi Amrabat, Hamza Hannouri
Manager: Mohamed Amine Benhachem
Al-Ain
The fourth team in this group and possibly the weakest one is 2023–24 AFC Champions League winners Al-Ain of the UAE, whose second continental triumph booked their spot in their first Club World Cup since 2018. Despite being the most successful club in their nation, the Boss, as they are called, don’t look to be bossing in the competition with so much high-octane opposition. That does not mean the AFC side will let their guard down easily, having players in the squad who can ask a question or two. The most esteemed candidate in the squad is the Euro 2016-winning goalkeeper with Portugal, Rui Patrício, who joined the club in the special transfer window from Italian side Atalanta ahead of the competition. He would be crucial in keeping Al-Ain in the game against top opposition and be a rescuer with his shot-stopping pedigree. Soufiane Rahimi is another player to keep an eye on, having dazzled with 13 goals in that continental success and ending as the top scorer in the historical Olympics last year, helping Morocco win the Bronze medal.
Al-Ain Club World Cup 2025 Squad
Goalkeepers: Rui Patrício, Khalid Eisa, Hassan Muhammed, Vedad Alibašić
Defenders: Kouame Autonne, Yahya Ben Khaleq, Marcel Ratnik, Khalid Al-Hashemi, Ramy Rabia, Fábio Cardoso, Facundo Zabala, Dramane Koumare, Amadou Niang, Adis Jašić
Midfielders: Park Yong-woo, Yahia Nader, Matías Segovia, Mohammed Abbas, Jonatas Santos, Erik, Mateo Sanabria, Matías Palacios, Soufiane Rahimi, Nassim Chadli, Hazim Abbas, Abdoul Karim Traoré, Joshua Udoh
Forwards: Kodjo Fo-Doh Laba, Kaku, Houssine Rahimi, Mohamed Awadalla, Rilwanu Sarki, Josna Loulendo
Manager: Vladimir Ivić
FIFA Club World Cup 2025 Group G Fixtures & Venues
Date | Time (EDT/IST) | Fixture | Venue |
Wed, June 18 | 12:00 pm/09:30 pm | Manchester City vs. Wydad AC | |
Wed, June 18 | 9:00 pm/06:30 am next day | Al-Ain vs. Juventus | Audi Field, Washington, D.C. |
Sun, June 22 | 12:00 pm/09:30 pm | Juventus vs. Wydad AC | Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia |
Sun, June 22 | 9:00 pm/12:30 am next day | Manchester City vs. Al-Ain | Mercedes‑Benz Stadium, Atlanta |
Thu, June 26 | 3:00 pm/12:30 am next day | Juventus vs. Manchester City | Camping World Stadium, Orlando |
Thu, June 26 | 3:00 pm/12:30 am next day | Wydad AC vs. Al-Ain | Audi Field, Washington, D.C. |
Who Will Qualify from Group G in the FIFA Club World Cup 2025?
Manchester City are clear favourites to top Group G, with their depth, experience, and renewed motivation after a trophyless season. Juventus, under Igor Tudor, should have just enough quality to claim the second spot, though their clash with City could be decisive.
Wydad Casablanca and Al-Ain bring passion and pedigree but are unlikely to break into the top two without a major upset.
Predicted Qualifiers: Manchester City, Juventus
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