When Inter and Juventus play in the World Cup for clubs: the schedule
It’s all set, in the United States, for the first edition of the revamped Club World Cup, which after the 20-year experience of the formula intended almost solely for the winners of the respective continental cups, proposes a 32-team format very similar to that adopted for the final stages of the World Cup for Nations held between 1998 and 2022. There are two Italian representatives, Inter Milan and Juventus.
The Nerazzurri gained access in December 2023, thanks to their third position in the UEFA’s ranking of eligible clubs, taking into account their achievements in the international arena between 2021 and 2024. The same ranking promoted, a few months later (more precisely in March) the Bianconeri, as seventh in the ranking.
L’Inter was placed in Group E with Monterrey (Mexico), qualified as winners of the 2021 CONCACAF Champions League, the Urawa Reds (Japan), winners of the Asian Champions in 2022, and River Plate (Argentina), first in the ranking of eligible clubs of CONMEBOL, the South American confederation. This is the Nerazzurri’s schedule:
Day 1: 3 a.m. between Tuesday, June 17 and Wednesday, June 18: Monterrey-Inter
Day 2: 9 p.m. Saturday, June 21: Inter-Urawa Reds
Day 3: 3 a.m. between Wednesday, June 25 and Thursday, June 26: Inter-River Plate
Juventus, on the other hand, will compete in Group G with Al Ain (UAE), winners of the Asian Champions League in 2024, Wydad Casablanca (Morocco), which won the African Champions League in 2022 instead, and Manchester City (England), which qualified in the aftermath of its success in Europe’s top competition in 2023. Below is the schedule for the bianconeri:
Day 1: 3 a.m. between Wednesday, June 18 and Thursday, June 19: Al Ain-Juventus
Day 2: 6 p.m. Sunday, June 22: Juventus-Wydad Casablanca
Day 3: 9 p.m. on Thursday, June 26: Juventus-Manchester City
The top two finishers advance to the round of 16: Group E will cross with Group F, which will feature Fluminense (Brazil), Borussia Dortmund (Germany), Ulsan HD (South Korea) and Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa), while Group G is tied with Group H, which features Real Madrid (Spain), Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia), Pachuca (Mexico) and Salzburg (Austria) as participants.
The round of 16 finals are scheduled between June 28 and July 1. They will be followed on July 4 and 5 by the quarterfinals, while the semifinals will be played on July 8 and 9 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., the same venue as the finals, which will take place on Sunday, July 13, at 9 p.m. Italian time. The final for third place is not scheduled.
