The FIFA Club World Cup is gathering pace after the opening round of group games. Here, our reporter Kaveh Solhekol answers some key questions from the US.
The new-look Club World Cup, which features 32 teams, started on June 14 with the final taking place on July 13.
The opening week has witnessed a 10-goal thumping, a dominant performance from Europe’s champions PSG and mixed results for other European heavyweights. Some attendances have been very low but we have seen passionate fans on the streets and in the stands and Wednesday’s game between Real Madrid and Al Hilal was outstanding entertainment.
Why are the attendances so low?
KAVEH SAYS: Despite images of thousands of empty seats at some games, FIFA is happy with attendances so far. The average attendance is almost 39,000 after 10 matches and that will rise significantly in the latter stages of the tournament.
It’s not all doom and gloom. FIFA says it has already sold 1.5 million tickets and many games have been well attended. The opening game between Inter Miami and Al Ahly was almost sold out, PSG beat Atletico Madrid in Los Angeles in front of more than 80,000 fans and 55,574 people watched Boca Juniors draw with Benfica.
Of course, there have been too many empty seats at some games – especially Ulsan vs Mamelodi Sundowns and Chelsea vs Los Angeles FC – but FIFA is expecting a big crowd when Chelsea play Flamengo in Philadelphia on Friday.
A lot has been made about the ticket pricing for the matches? How has it been received in the host cities?
KAVEH SAYS: FIFA’s dynamic ticketing policy has been controversial, but it has meant you can buy tickets relatively cheaply for some games. General admission tickets for Chelsea’s opening game were $51 (£38) and they were only a few dollars more for Boca Juniors vs Benfica in Miami on Monday.
How accessible are the stadia at the tournament? Are they easy to get to? What is the infrastructure?
KAVEH SAYS: FIFA is using a mix of different sized stadia and the most impressive so far have been the ones used by the NFL. Those are also being used for the 2026 World Cup so this tournament is a useful dry run for next summer. One of the reasons FIFA likes hosting tournaments here – apart from the US being football’s final frontier – is that the stadia and infrastructure are already in place.
Do the kick-off times feel like the right ones?
KAVEH SAYS: Games are kicking off as early as midday and that suits television audiences in the UK more than fans in the US.
The east coast here is five hours behind the UK so a 3pm local kick-off is 8pm in the UK – which is good news for broadcasters and fans watching on TV back home.
The disappointing 22,000 attendance for Chelsea’s opening game in Atlanta is being blamed on the local kick-off time of 3pm on a Monday. Two years ago there were more than 70,000 inside the same stadium when Chelsea played Newcastle United in a pre-season friendly.
Which clubs are the most popular in the United States?
Chelsea and Man City are at the FIFA Club World Cup
KAVEH SAYS: The Premier League is the most popular foreign league in the US but the biggest draw at this tournament are Real Madrid. They will play all their games in packed grounds and they create a big buzz wherever they play. It’s all a far cry from former head coach Carlo Ancelotti’s quickly retracted comments last summer that they would pull out of the tournament because they weren’t being offered money by FIFA to play.
Real Madrid drew 1-1 with Al Hilal at the Club World Cup
How much interest is there from US audiences in this type of football?
KAVEH SAYS: Lots of people say they are aware the Club World Cup is going on and games seem to be on live in lots of places like bars, restaurants, airports and even on flights. That doesn’t mean that it’s captured the imagination of the sporting public but coverage of it is not difficult to find if you are a soccer fan.
And for those fans, it feels special to have major clubs from all around the world playing competitive games in the US instead of just friendlies.
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Chelsea FC asked US sports fans to guess the name of Premier League clubs based off just their badge… and the responses were hilarious!
Could attendances be an issue in next summer’s World Cup?
KAVEH SAYS: That’s a possibility with the tournament expanding from 32 to 48 teams but don’t forget Mexico and Canada are also co-hosting in 2026, so some of the extra games will be spread out across three countries.
The fact 16 more countries are playing in the World Cup makes it more likely that there will be some games with low attendees in the group stages.
Having said that, group-stage games at major tournaments don’t always sell out and there have been disappointing attendances at some games at previous World Cups.
FIFA is confident attendances won’t be an issue next summer and, who knows, if recent tournaments are anything to go by, the 2026 edition will end with some familiar voices claiming it’s been the best World Cup ever.
Live group tables, fixtures and results
Group A
Group B
Group C
Group D
Group E
Group F
Group G
Group H
Club World Cup fixtures and results
All times in BST
Group stage
Sunday June 15
Group A: Al Ahly 0-0 Inter Miami – Hard Rock Stadium, Miami
Group C: Bayern Munich 10-0 Auckland City – TQL Stadium, Cincinnati
Group B: PSG 4-0 Atletico Madrid – Rose Bowl Stadium, Los Angeles
Group A: Palmeiras 0-0 Porto – MetLife Stadium, New York New Jersey
Monday June 16
Group B: Botafogo 2-1 Seattle Sounders – Lumen Field, Seattle
Group D: Chelsea 2-0 Los Angeles FC – Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
Group C: Boca Juniors 2-2 Benfica – Hard Rock Stadium, Miami
Tuesday June 17
Group D: Flamengo 2-0 Esperance de Tunis – Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
Group F: Fluminense 0-0 Borussia Dortmund – MetLife Stadium, New York New Jersey
Group E: River Plate 3-1 Urawa Red Diamonds – Lumen Field, Seattle
Group F: Ulsan HD 0-1 Mamelodi Sundowns – Inter&Co Stadium, Orlando
Wednesday June 18
Group E: Monterrey 1-1 Inter Milan – Rose Bowl Stadium, Los Angeles
Group G: Man City 2-0 Wydad AC – Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
Group H: Real Madrid 1-1 Al Hilal – Hard Rock Stadium, Miami
Group H: CF Pachuca 1-2 FC Salzburg – TQL Stadium, Cincinnati
Thursday June 19
Group G: Al Ain 0-5 Juventus – Audi Field, Washington, D.C
Group A: Palmeiras vs Al Ahly – MetLife Stadium, New York New Jersey; kick off 5pm
Group A: Inter Miami vs Porto – Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta; kick off 8pm
Group B: Seattle Sounders vs Atletico Madrid – Lumen Field, Seattle; kick off 8pm
Group B: PSG vs Botafogo – Rose Bowl Stadium, Los Angeles; kick off 11pm
Friday June 20
Group C: Benfica vs Auckland City – Inter&Co Stadium, Orlando; kick off 5pm
Group D: Flamengo vs Chelsea – Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia; kick off 7pm
Group D: Los Angeles FC vs Esperance de Tunis – GEODIS Park, Nashville; kick off 10pm
Saturday June 21
Group C: Bayern Munich vs Boca Juniors – Hard Rock Stadium, Miami; kick off 2am
Group F: Mamelodi Sundowns vs Bosurissa Dortmund – TQL Stadium, Cincinnati; kick off 5pm
Group E: Inter Milan vs Urawa Red Diamonds – Lumen Field, Seattle; kick off 5pm
Group F: Fluminense vs Ulsan HD – MetLife Stadium, New York New Jersey; kick off 11pm
Group E: River Plate vs Monterrey – Rose Bowl Stadium, Los Angeles; kick off 11pm
Sunday, 22 June
Group G: Juventus vs Wydad AC – Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia; kick off 5pm
Group H: Real Madrid vs CF Pachuca – Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte; kick off 8pm
Group H: FC Salzburg vs Al Hilal – Audi Field, Washington, D.C; kick off 11pm
Monday, 23 June
Group G: Man City vs Al Ain – Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta; kick off 2am
Group B: Seattle Sounders vs PSG – Lumen Field, Seattle; kick off 5pm
Group B: Atletico Madrid vs Botafogo – Rose Bowl Stadium, Los Angeles; kick off 5pm
Tuesday, 24 June
Group A: Inter Miami vs Palmeiras – Hard Rock Stadium, Miami; kick off 2am
Group A: Porto vs Al Ahly – MetLife Stadium, New York New Jersey; kick off 2am
Group C: Auckland City vs Boca Juniors – GEODIS Park, Nashville; kick off 7pm
Group C: Benfica vs Bayern Munich – Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte; kick off 8pm
Wednesday, 25 June
Group D: Los Angeles FC vs Flamengo – Camping World Stadium, Orlando; kick off 2am
Group D: Esperance de Tunis vs Chelsea – Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia; kick off 2am
Group F: Borussia Dortmund vs Ulsan HD – TQL Stadium, Cincinnati; kick off 8pm
Group F: Mamelodi Sundowns vs Fluminense – Hard Rock Stadium, Miami; kick off 8pm
Group E: Inter Milan vs River Plate – Lumen Field, Seattle; kick off 11pm
Group E: Urawa Red Diamonds vs Monterrey – Rose Bowl Stadium, Los Angeles; kick off 11pm
Thursday, 26 June
Group G: Juventus vs Man City – Camping World Stadium, Orlando; kick off 8pm
Group G: Wydad AC vs Al Ain – Audi Field, Washington, D.C; kick off 8pm
Friday, 27 June
Group H: Al Hilal vs CF Pachuca – GEODIS Park, Nashville; kick off 1am
Group H: FC Salzburg vs Real Madrid – Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia; kick off 2am
Knockout stage – round of 16
Saturday, 28 June
Match 49: Group A winners vs Group B runners-up – Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia; kick off 5pm
Match 50: Group C winners vs Group D runners-up – Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte; kick off 9pm
Sunday, 29 June
Match 51: Group B winners vs Group A runners-up – Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta; kick off 5pm
Match 52: Group D winners vs Group C runners-up – Hard Rock Stadium, Miami; kick off 9pm
Monday, 30 June
Match 53: Group E winners vs Group F runners-up – Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte; kick off 8pm
Tuesday, 31 June
Match 54: Group G winners vs Group H runners-up – Camping World Stadium, Orlando; kick off 2am
Tuesday, 1 July
Match 55: Group H winners vs Group G runners-up – Hard Rock Stadium, Miami; kick off 8pm
Wednesday, 2 July
Match 56: Group F winners vs Group E runners-up – Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta; kick off 2am
Quarter-final fixtures
Friday, 4 July
Match 57: Winner match 53 vs Winner match 54 – Camping World Stadium, Orlando; kick off 8pm
Saturday, 5 July
Match 58: Winner match 49 vs Winner match 50 – Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia; kick off 2am
Match 59: Winner match 51 vs Winner match 52 – Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta; kick off 5pm
Match 60: Winner match 55 vs Winner match 56 – MetLife Stadium, New York New Jersey; kick off 9pm
Semi-final fixtures
Tuesday, 8 July
Match 61: Winner match 57 vs Winner match 58 – MetLife Stadium, New York New Jersey; kick off 8pm
Wednesday, 9 July
Match 62: Winner match 59 vs Winner match 60 – MetLife Stadium, New York New Jersey; kick off 8pm
FIFA Club World Cup Final
Sunday, 13 July
Match 63: Winner match 61 vs Winner match 62 – MetLife Stadium, New York New Jersey; kick off 8pm
