THE Club World Cup is back this weekend – and this year’s event will be larger than ever, with a host of the biggest names in football set to feature.
Thirty-two teams from around the globe will take part in the tournament across 11 cities in the United States, with the month-long action beginning at 01:00 BST on Sunday and ending on 13 July.
You do not have to wait long until the superstars appear, with teams having finalised their squads for the big kick-off.
Inter Miami, fortunate to be included as they won the Major League Soccer Supporters’ Shield for the best performance in the MLS regular season – even though LA Galaxy went on to win the actual MLS play-offs and were left out, kick-start the competition on day one.
Eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi is part of a legendary quartet of ex-Barcelona players at Inter Miami, alongside former Liverpool striker Luis Suarez, midfielder Sergio Busquets and left-back Jordi Alba.
Defender Sergio Ramos, a World Cup winner with Spain in 2010, is captain of Mexican side Monterrey, while striker Oliver Giroud and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris – who both played in France’s World Cup-winning team in 2018 – are in the Los Angeles FC side that will be in the competition after they won a play-off against Mexican side Club America.
Fellow World Cup winners Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann are in the Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid squads respectively.
Fans of the two English teams involved will get an early glimpse of their new signings.
Manchester City have selected Tijjani Reijnders, Rayan Ait-Nouri, Marcus Bettinelli and Rayan Cherki in their squad, while Chelsea’s summer recruits – Liam Delap, Dario Essugo and Mamadou Sarr – will also feature.
As part of the mid-tournament registration window, between 27 June and 3 July, clubs can add two extra players, potentially taking their squad size from 35 up to 37. A maximum of six changes can be made to squads.
England internationals Harry Kane (left), Conor Gallagher (centre) and Jude Bellingham will be in action for Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid respectively
It promises to be a busy few weeks for some key members of the England squad.
