England manager Thomas Tuchel feels that the Club World Cup will cost Manchester City and Chelsea next season, giving their rivals a boost in the Premier League title race.
The revamped, 32-team Club World Cup lasts for almost a month this summer from June 14 – July 13 in America.
The Premier League representatives, Man City and Chelsea, will be battling it out with some of the biggest clubs on the planet while rivals in the English top flight will be resting up before pre-season training.
Tuchel expects the tournament to make a huge impression on the following season, believing Arsenal and Liverpool will feel the benefit of not being involved.
‘I think it will have a huge impact and it will give Liverpool and Arsenal a huge advantage in the next season to not be there,’ Tuchel said of the Club World Cup.
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‘I think it will be a very nice experience for the players who are there to play this tournament for the first time so it is mixed feelings about it.
‘I decided not to worry too much because why should I? It is a given and no one knows what will be the outcome of it or the effect.
‘We will deal with the effect when the effect comes and let’s see. We have a lot of teams in Champions League next season and European football and let’s see.’
The relentlessly busy football calendar continues before the Club World Cup begins, with international fixtures currently being played.
England play a friendly against Senegal on Tuesday night after beating Andorra in a friendly on Saturday and Tuchel says the players all remain fully committed to play, despite the intense schedule.
‘I think the clubs are concerned and I get that for the Club World Cup and after a long season,’ said the German.
‘And I think the players feel it and some of them feel tired and some of them feel the tiredness more after one or two weeks of holiday than they felt it straight after the season so sometimes it is easier to say in a rhythm.
‘There is not one player who says: “By the way, I would like to be on the bench and save myself for the Club World Cup” so they are hungry to play.
‘The games are not the problem, it is just the amount of time that it occupies from the players and they need a proper rest somewhere in this calendar which they hardly get.’
FIFA Club World Cup 2025
Group A
Palmeiras – Winners of the 2021 Copa Libertadores
Porto – Fifth-best ranked eligible team in the UEFA four-year ranking
Al Ahly – Winners of the 2020/21 CAF Champions League
Inter Miami – Winners of the 2024 MLS Supporters’ Shield
Group B
PSG – Second-best ranked eligible team in the UEFA four-year ranking
Atletico Madrid – Sixth-best ranked eligible team in the UEFA four-year ranking
Botafogo – Winners of the 2024 Copa Libertadores
Seattle Sounders – Winners of the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League
Group C
Bayern Munich – Best ranked eligible team in the UEFA four-year ranking
Auckland City – Best OFC Champions League winners in the OFC four-year ranking
Boca Juniors – Second-best ranked eligible team in the CONMEBOL four-year ranking
Benfica – Seventh-best ranked eligible team in the UEFA four-year ranking
Group D
Flamengo – Winners of the 2022 Copa Libertadores
Esperance de Tunis – Best-ranked eligible team in the CAF four-year ranking
Chelsea – Winners of the 2020/21 UEFA Champions League
Los Angeles FC – Winners of the play-in match
Group E
River Plate – Best-ranked eligible team in the CONMEBOL four-year ranking
Urawa Red Diamonds – Winners of the 2022 AFC Champions League
Monterray – Winners of the 2021 CONCACAF Champions League
Inter Milan – Fourth-best ranked eligible team in the UEFA four-year ranking
Group F
Fluminense – Winners of the 2023 Copa Libertadores
Borussia Dortmund – Third-best ranked eligible team in the UEFA four-year ranking
Ulsan HD – Best-ranked eligible team in the AFC four-year ranking
Mamelodi Sundowns – Second-best ranked eligible team in the CAF four-year ranking
Group G
Man City – Winners of the 2022/23 UEFA Champions League
Wydad AC – Winners of the 2021/22 CAF Champions League
Al Ain – Winners of the 2023/24 AFC Champions League
Juventus – Eighth-best ranked eligible team in the UEFA four-year ranking
Group H
Real Madrid – Winners of the 2021/22 UEFA Champions League
Al Hilal – Winners of the 2021 AFC Champions League
Pachuca – Winners of the 2024 CONCACAF Champions League
Red Bull Salzburg – Ninth-best ranked eligible team in the UEFA four-year ranking
Carragher slams Club World Cup
Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher said, via CBS Sports: ‘It’s a bit like FIFA think, “Well, we’ve only got the World Cup every four years and UEFA or Europe have this Champions League. There’s this unbelievable money and financial aspect to it and they have it every year but we’ve got to wait every four years for the World Cup.” They’ve just tried to create something and I don’t think there’s any appetite really from players, clubs and even supporters.
‘I am a massive football fan. I watch everything. I can’t envisage in the summer me stopping my holiday or going in from the pool to go and watch a game. I think I’ll probably forget it’s on. Now I might be wrong and in 20 years time this may become that.
‘But right now, I don’t think the players and the managers actually want to be there. That’s a really sad state of affairs for a new tournament. When do they ever get a rest?’