Sundowns Could Face Real Madrid, Manchester City, Chelsea, or Inter

Mamelodi Sundowns are poised to face a major hurdle in the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup draw on Thursday in Miami, where they may find themselves in a “Group of Death.”

As a participant from Pot 4, Sundowns could be drawn against top European clubs such as Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, or Paris Saint-Germain. Furthermore, they might encounter strong teams like Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund, Inter Milan, or Atlético Madrid from Pot 2.

In Pot 3, Sundowns could be pitted against teams like CF Monterrey, Club León, CA Boca Juniors, or Botafogo. They will not face Al Ahly and Wydad Casablanca since both teams belong to the same confederation (CAF).

The 32 qualified teams are divided into four pots based on their confederation rankings. Sundowns’ earlier appearance in the 2016 FIFA Club World Cup, where they had modest success, has placed them in Pot 4.

Manqoba Mngqithi’s squad earned their spot in the tournament through CAF’s ranking system, in contrast to Al Ahly, who secured their place as the reigning African champions.




In a statement on Tuesday, FIFA said:

FIFA’s primary objective is to ensure that, where feasible, no group consists of more than one team from the same confederation. This applies to all confederations except UEFA, which has 12 teams involved.

Each group must include at least one and no more than two UEFA teams. As a result, four out of the eight groups will feature two UEFA representatives. 2. Teams from the same member association are prohibited from being grouped together. 3. To maintain competitive equilibrium, two distinct pathways of four groups each have been established.

Pathway 1 encompasses winners from groups A, C, E, and G paired with runners-up from groups B, D, F, and H. Pathway 2 includes winners from groups B, D, F, and H paired with runners-up from groups A, C, E, and G. UEFA teams 1-2 and CONMEBOL teams 1-2 will be assigned to groups in separate pathways and will only meet in the semi-finals if they both win their respective groups.

The same applies for UEFA teams 3-4 and CONMEBOL teams 3-4. 4. UEFA teams 1-4 will be assigned to groups in a manner that prevents them from clashing until the semi-finals if they advance from their groups.

This guideline extends to CONMEBOL teams 1-4 as well. 5. All teams from pot 1 will be directly allocated to position 1 in their respective groups. 6. The draw for teams from pot 2 will be conducted as follows: UEFA teams 5-8 will be placed into groups with CONMEBOL teams 1-4, while UEFA teams 9-12 will be matched with UEFA teams 1-4. 7.

Due to hosting arrangements and scheduling considerations, Inter Miami CF will be positioned in group A at slot 4, while Seattle Sounders FC will take slot 4 in group B when drawn from pot 4. 8. Consequently, teams assigned to Group A or Group B will occupy the position corresponding to their pot.

As a result, the team from pot 2 will occupy position 2, and the team from pot 3 will take position 3. This rule is applicable solely to Groups A and B.

The draw procedure is detailed as follows:

The four pots containing the teams are numbered 1 to 4. Each pot comprises eight balls, each representing a qualified team. 2. The draw commences by selecting all teams from pot 1, adhering to the prescribed drawing constraints. Once all teams from Pot 1 have been assigned to their respective groups, the draw will continue with teams from pots 2, 3, and 4, completing each pot before progressing; a ball will be drawn from the team pot, followed by a ball from the first available group pot to designate the team’s position within the group, in compliance with the established draw constraints. The position allocation within a group applies exclusively to groups C to H, according to the prior constraints. 3. The draw will conclude once all teams from pot 4 have been selected.



  • Related Posts

    Tom Aspinall Subtly Calls Out Jon Jones After UFC Icon’s Retirement and Departure from Multi-Million-Pound Bout

    British fighter Tom Aspinall has vowed to restore stability to the UFC heavyweight division after being named the undisputed champion without landing a single blow. The Wigan warrior, 32, earned…

    Wayne Rooney Steps into New Role Partnering with Premier League Legend

    MANCHESTER UNITED legend Wayne Rooney has landed a new position that enables him to work with another iconic figure from the Premier League. Now at 39, Rooney, affectionately known as…

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *