Messi and Inter Miami to open Club World Cup against Egyptian club Al Ahly

MIAMI (AP) — Lionel Messi and Inter Miami now know their path for next year's Club World Cup.

The host team — invited by FIFA to compete despite criticism from many in the soccer world — will play the tournament's first match on June 15 against Egyptian club Al Ahly, as part of a group that will also feature Palmeiras and Porto.

Other opening matches include Paris Saint-Germain vs. Atletico Madrid and Brazilian club Botafogo playing at Major League Soccer's Seattle Sounders in Group B; Monterrey against Inter Milan in Group E; and Real Madrid facing the Saudi club Al-Hilal — potentially a showdown pitting superstars Kylian Mbappé for Real Madrid and Neymar for Al-Hilal if the Brazilian great remains with that club.

“Anytime that you have certain things where soccer is big and you bring it to the U.S., it's going to be a great atmosphere and entertaining," said baseball great Ken Griffey Jr., part of the Sounders' ownership group.

His club will get the chance to play one of the world's storied teams in PSG during group play.

“I'm going to leave that one alone,” Griffey said, smiling.

The draw was held Thursday in Miami, with the 32 teams finally finding out their first three opponents in the newly expanded event.

The tournament will be held in the U.S. from June 15 to July 13, using 12 stadiums in 11 different cities. The final will be at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, the same stadium that will play host to the 2026 World Cup final.

Among the powerhouse clubs in the field: Manchester City, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, PSG, Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund and Inter Milan. There’s also the four highest-ranked teams from South America: Flamengo, Palmeiras, River Plate and Fluminense.

And Messi’s team, as a representative of the host nation, gets the distinction of playing the first match. It’ll happen at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.

“It’s about inclusivity, it’s about bringing clubs from all over the world, the 32 best clubs and best players from all over the world together,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino said.

Some would argue it’s not the 32 “best” clubs. Inter Miami’s selection was widely panned by critics, the volume of that only rising after the team that won the Supporters Shield as the best MLS team in the regular season — with a record-setting point total — lost in Round 1 of the MLS Cup playoffs.

“There’s no controversy,” Inter Miami managing owner Jorge Mas said.

Major League Soccer got two teams: Seattle and Inter Miami. The Sounders qualified for the field, and Inter Miami was placed into it as the host nation’s representative.

The club competition uses the traditional 32-team format used by the World Cup from 1998 to 2022. Eight round-robin groups of four teams each were drawn Thursday, with the top two from each group advancing to a knockout bracket of 16.

Europe got 12 spots and South America six to lead the field, while Africa, Asia and North America all got four — with Inter Miami essentially a fifth from North America since it has host status. Oceania got one spot.

“There is no rule that said the MLS Cup winner needs to be in the Club World Cup,” MLS Commissioner Don Garber said. “I have no interest in anything other than what I think is going to be best for the showcase, best for our league. I am supportive of the decision that FIFA made and I’m excited to put Miami and Seattle in a global media deal and be shown around the world.”

Mas said Inter Miami getting the privilege of playing the opening match of the tournament at home is “a testament to our community, the soccer culture that’s here.”

“Who would have told us five years ago, with no club, that we’d be here today at a draw with the best teams in the world,” Mas said. “That’s what we aspire to. That’s what we dream of.”

Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.

Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.

Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.

Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.

Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.

Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.

Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.

Group H: Real Madrid, Al-Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Teófilo Cubillas displays FC Salzburg during the draw for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup soccer tournament, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

FIFA President Gianni Infantino' and Former professional Brazilian soccer player Ronaldo speak with Ivanka Trump's son Theodore during the draw for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup soccer tournament, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell

Adriana Lima displays Botafogo during the fourth draw for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup soccer tournament, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Adriana Lima displays Ca Boca Juniors during the fourth draw for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup soccer tournament, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Romero Brito displays Inter Miami CF during the fourth draw for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup soccer tournament, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Presenter Samantha Johnson speaks on stage during the draw for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup soccer tournament, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Alessandro Del Piero speaks during the draw for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup soccer tournament, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Gloria Estefan displays Fluminense Football Club during the draw for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup soccer tournament, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Ivanka Trump and her son Theodore help with the draw with Gloria Estefan pulls Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras out of a bowl during the draw for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup soccer tournament, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

FIFA President Gianni Infantino' speaks during the draw for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup soccer tournament, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

FIFA President Gianni Infantino' speaks during the draw for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup soccer tournament, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

FIFA President Gianni Infantino' and Former professional Brazilian soccer player Ronaldo present a new trophy during the draw for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup soccer tournament, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — It's not often that a man is able to follow up his first Grand Slam title by repeating as the champion at the same tournament a year later, which is what Jannik Sinner will be trying to do Sunday when he faces Alexander Zverev in the Australian Open final.

The last time it happened was nearly 20 years ago: Rafael Nadal accomplished that sort of repeat at the 2005 and 2006 French Opens. He turned out OK.

For the No. 1-ranked Sinner, the past year also included the doping case that is still unresolved. He tested positive for a trace amount of an anabolic steroid twice in March, which didn't become public until his exoneration was announced shortly before the start of play at the U.S. Open — which he won. There is a hearing in the World Anti-Doping Agency's appeal scheduled in April.

“He finds playing tennis matches to be his safe place. That’s where he can go and do his thing and feel like this is what he knows, this is what he understands, what is what he’s good at. It become a home for him to step on to the court and play tennis,” said one of Sinner's two coaches, Darren Cahill, who will leave the team after this season.

“There's been a lot of pressure around him for the last nine months now, since April last year. He deals with it as well as anybody that I’ve ever seen deal with pressure," Cahill said. "He’s an amazing young man that’s been able to put that to one side. ... He has a clear conscience.”

Over these two weeks in Australia, Sinner also dealt with health issues. He got medical attention when he felt dizzy and had an upset stomach during his fourth-round victory against No. 13 Holger Rune, then cramping late in his semifinal win over No. 21 Ben Shelton.

“There's a lot of things going on, on and off the court. I try to isolate myself a little bit, trying to be myself on the court. Sometimes it’s a bit easier. There are days where it’s easier, days where I struggle a little bit more,” said Sinner, a 23-year-old from Italy who can become the youngest man to win consecutive championships at the Australian Open since Jim Courier in 1992-93.

“I'm just happy to put myself in this position again,” Sinner said, “to play for a big trophy again.”

Standing in his way is No. 2 Zverev, a 27-year-old from Germany who is 0-2 in previous major finals, losing both in five sets — to Dominic Thiem at the 2020 U.S. Open after taking the first two sets and holding a match point, and to Carlos Alcaraz at last year's French Open after leading by two sets to one. Zverev won his semifinal in Paris last June hours after an out-of-court settlement was announced in Berlin that ended a trial stemming from an ex-girlfriend’s accusation of assault during a 2020 argument.

Zverev got his spot in the Australian Open final — play is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. local time (3:30 a.m. EST) on Sunday — when 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic stopped playing because of a leg injury just one set into their semifinal on Friday.

This will be the first title match at Rod Laver Arena between the men seeded 1 and 2 since No. 1 Djokovic defeated No. 2 Nadal in 2019.

“Jannik has been the best player in the world for the past 12 months,” Zverev said. “There’s no doubt about it.”

That is not really up for debate.

Sinner went 73-6 in 2024 with eight titles, the most on the ATP Tour since 2016, and is currently on a 20-match winning streak that began late last season.

He is listed as a -275 money-line favorite against Zverev, according to BetMGM Sportsbook.

But don't expect Sinner to proclaim that status or be willing to talk about himself in glowing terms.

“Back of my head, I also know that I’m 23 years old, and I am not perfect, no? I know that I have things still to improve. I have certain areas where I can get better. That’s why we work,” Sinner said. “Every day is a big challenge. Every day you have a different opponent. You try to understand what’s happening. Sometimes you have some issues and then trying to understand that whatever works best for that day and trying to go for it.”

Alexander Zverev of Germany plays a forehand return to Novak Djokovic of Serbia during their semifinal match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Jannik Sinner of Italy plays a backhand return to Ben Shelton of the U.S. during their semifinal match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Alexander Zverev of Germany serves to Novak Djokovic of Serbia during their semifinal match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Jannik Sinner of Italy receives medical treatment during his semifinal match against Ben Shelton of the U.S. at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Jannik Sinner of Italy signs autographs after defeating Ben Shelton of the U.S. in their semifinal match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Alexander Zverev, right, of Germany embraces Novak Djokovic of Serbia after Djokovic retired from their semifinal match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Jannik Sinner of Italy reacts during his semifinal match against Ben Shelton of the U.S. at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)