More than 1 million empty seats for Club World Cup group stage. Knockout rounds up next

After a group stage played in front of more than 1 million empty seats, the Club World Cup moves on to knockout rounds that could soon resemble a Champions League clone.

Nine teams that advanced to the round of 16 are from Europe along with four from Brazil and one each from Major League Soccer, Mexico and Saudi Arabia.

About 56.7% of publicly listed capacity was filled for the 48 group stage matches, which included crowds of 3,412 and 6,730 in Orlando, Florida; 5,282 and 8,239 in Cincinnati. FIFA did not provide specific capacities for the tournament despite repeated requests from The Associated Press.

Total announced attendance was 1.67 million from 2.95 million capacity, an average of 34,746.

Just 44.9% was filled for five matches at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, the site of next year's World Cup final, and 50% at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, where the 1994 championship game was played.

Among other 2026 sites, 81.8% of capacity was filled in Miami Gardens, Florida, 61.6% in Philadelphia, 52% in Seattle and 44.3% in Atlanta.

FIFA spokesman Bryan Swanson did not respond to a request for FIFA President Gianni Infantino to discuss the tournament and attendance. FIFA issued a statement that said: “The appetite of the tournament speaks for itself: fans from 168 countries have already purchased tickets ... a clear sign of global anticipation and reach.”

The 12 games televised with English commentary on TNT, TBS and truTV averaged 360,000 viewers through Monday, including 409,000 for seven matches on nights and weekends.

The second round opens Saturday with an all-Brazilian matchup of Palmeiras and Botafogo, followed by Chelsea-Benfica later in the day.

Sunday starts with the high-profile meeting of Inter Miami and Lionel Messi against European champion Paris Saint-Germain and is followed by Bayern Munich-Flamengo.

Inter Milan-Fluminese and Manchester City-Al Hilal are on Monday, and Real Madrid-Juventus and Borussia Dortmund-Monterrey on Tuesday.

European teams won 16 of the 17 previous editions of an eight-team Club World Cup, the lone exception a 2012 victory by Brazil’s Corinthians over Chelsea.

Manchester City is the only team that went 3-0 in the group stage.

Five of the 12 stadiums being used are sites for next year's World Cup, which will have 104 matches instead of 64 and many more games lacking prestigious teams and players.

There were five weather delays in the Club World Cup group stage and temperatures at times rose well over 90 degrees (32 Celsius), a sign that climate change could impact next year’s World Cup. However, four of the stadiums for next year's tournament have roofs and climate control.

Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe, among soccer's top stars, didn’t play a minute of the group stage, having been hospitalized and treated for acute gastroenteritis. He drew attention this week when the Paris prosecutor’s office said he filed a moral harassment case against PSG, his former club.

“I don’t want to be optimistic and get ahead of myself, but we need him because he’s a top player, one of the best in the world. We hope he’s back soon,” Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso said Thursday.

Messi, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner who turned 38 on Tuesday, has helped Miami reach the knockout phase with moments of brilliance. He hit the goal frame twice in the opening draw against Al Ahly, then scored his 68th free kick goal for club and country in the 2-1 win over Porto.

Next up is the game against PSG, Messi’s team from 2021-23.

All four entrants from Brazil have advanced to the round of 16, with Botafogo beating PSG 1-0 in a matchup of current European and South American champions. Flamengo, Palmeiras and Fluminense are also through to the next stage.

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

A small number of fans watches the Club World Cup group A soccer match between Palmeiras and Al Ahly in East Rutherford, N.J., Thursday, June 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

A generl view of the TQL Stadium is seen before the Club World Cup Group F soccer match between Mamelodi Sundowns and Borussia Dortmund in Cincinnati, Saturday, June 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)

A fan from Atletico Madrid cheers prior to the Club World Cup Group B soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Botafogo in Pasadena, Calif., Monday, June 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Greg Bull)

Fans take their seats for the Club World Cup group F soccer match between Fluminense and Borussia Dortmund in East Rutherford, N.J., Tuesday, June 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Seats are empty during the Club World Cup Group F soccer match between Mamelodi Sundowns and Fluminense in Miami Gardens, Fla., Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

MUMBAI, India (AP) — Shreyas Iyer was provisionally named in India’s squad on Saturday for the home one-day international series against New Zealand starting Jan. 11.

India will host the Black Caps in a white-ball engagement — three ODIs and five T20s — in the build-up to the 2026 T20 World Cup.

Iyer returns to the international fold after sustaining a spleen injury during an ODI against Australia in Sydney last October.

His selection is subject to fitness clearance from BCCI’s medical team and he will return as India’s vice-captain for the three-match series.

Skipper Shubman Gill also returns, after he missed the ODI series against South Africa in December. He had a neck spasm in the test series earlier, and subsequently played in the T20s against the Proteas.

Ruturaj Gaikwad and Tilak Verma missed out. Gaikwad had scored a maiden ODI hundred against South Africa in Visakhapatnam.

Rishabh Pant is retained as second keeper-batter behind Lokesh Rahul, who had stood in as captain against the Proteas.

Star batters Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma had both participated in the domestic List A tournament — Vijay Hazare Trophy — and return to the international stage for the ODIs.

All-rounder Hardik Pandya is fit, but not sufficiently enough to bowl 10 overs in an ODI. Thus, he has been rested further ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup (in India and Sri Lanka) starting Feb. 7. Nitish Kumar Reddy is included in the squad.

Pacer Mohammed Siraj returns to lead the bowling lineup with Jasprit Bumrah rested again. Siraj had missed the South Africa series because of workload management.

The three ODIs will be played in Vadodara (Jan. 11), Rajkot (Jan. 14) and Indore (Jan. 18), with the five-match T20 series starting Jan. 21.

Squad: Shubman Gill (captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal.

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

FILE - Captain of Punjab Kings Shreyas Iyer addresses a news conference on the eve of the final match of Indian Premier League at Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad, India, Monday, June 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki, File)