FIFA officials met at Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on December 17 and made novel announcements regarding the already enhanced 2025 Club World Cup. Featuring 32 teams for the first time, the US will host the tournament from June 15 to July 13. The previous and the ongoing edition of the Club World Cup has been featuring a club each from six soccer confederations of the globe, and a club from the host nation. In 2025, each confederation will see an increase in participation. But will the 2025 Club World Cup feature a superstar like Cristiano Ronaldo? Let’s find out.

Cristiano Ronaldo has won the FIFA Club World Cup a whopping four times. However, it is not safe to say Ronaldo has got a shot at the 2025 edition, as Al Nassr is yet to qualify. Let us examine Al Nassr’s prospects to qualify for the FIFA Club World Cup 2025.

Will Cristiano Ronaldo and Al Nassr feature in the FIFA Club World Cup 2025?

Out of the 32 teams that will participate in the FIFA Club World Cup, four teams come from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Following their respective AFC Champions League wins in 2021 and 2022, Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal and Japan’s Urawa Red Dragons have qualified for the upcoming Club World Cup. Apart from these two teams, the winner of the 23-24 AFC Champions League will also be eligible to participate. Besides, the best eligible team in AFC’s four-year ranking will also feature in the next Club World Cup.

Ronaldo’s Al Nassr has indeed got a shot to qualify, as they have currently made it to the ongoing AFC Champions League’s knockout phase. If not for the AFC Champions League win, Al Nassr still has a chance to be the best-eligible team in the AFC rankings. In the event of Al Nassr utilizing their chances in the Saudi Pro League and the King Cup, a good ranking and subsequent World Cup qualification are not distant dreams.

Already qualified teams and format

The FIFA has considered a similar qualification metric as the AFC for every other confederation. From Europe’s UEFA, the last three Champions League winners, Chelsea, Real Madrid, and Manchester City have booked a birth in the 2025 Club World Cup. The 23-24 UCL winner will also be eligible to feature in the tournament. Eight other teams from UEFA will be selected on the basis of rankings. Flamengo, Fluminense, and Palmeiras from South America’s CONMEBOL have qualified.

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Al Ahly and Wydad Casablanca from Africa’s CAF, and Seattle Sounders from North America’s CONCACAF are other qualified teams. When all is said and done, 32 teams will line up in the US in 2025. They will play a round-robin in the group stage. Each group’s best two teams will qualify for knockouts starting with a round of 16. Thanks to FIFA, the Club World Cup will pretty much be a spectacle like the FIFA World Cup.

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