Man City Club World Cup opponents taking shape as giants qualify, Ronaldo out and Messi in frame

Manchester City might have only recently claimed the Club World Cup but the route to defending the trophy is beginning to take shape.

The Blues will head Stateside this summer for a pre-season tour and will return next year to defend the Club World Cup they won in December. That was part of a sensational five trophy haul in 2023 and City will have their eyes on more silverware in the next 18 months.

The Club World Cup has undergone a major and controversial facelift with the competition expanded to 32 teams, adding further matches to the football calendar. City will travel to the US as defending champions and while some details are yet to be confirmed, the list of participating teams is becoming clearer. Here's everything you need to know.

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Juventus and Borussia Dortmund have now booked their spots in the competition following European results this month. It means 10 of the dozen European slots are now filled. City are joined by Chelsea, courtesy of their Champions League win in 2021, while Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and PSG have all qualified.

Porto, Benfica and Inter Milan complete the line-up so far. The remaining spots will go to the winners of this season's Champions League and the next best placed team on the UEFA four-year ranking. Atletico Madrid or Barcelona are in prime position to take the latter spot. If the Champions League is won by a team already qualified then it will go the next best placed side in the ranking list.

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