CLUB WORLD CUP
Five football stars missing at the 2025 Club World Cup
FIFA’s inaugural expanded Club World Cup in the United States has US$1 billion of prize money on the line, but will be missing some of the game’s star names.
Here are five players who will not be lighting up stadiums across the United States once it gets underway this weekend.
1. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
Liverpool finished as English champions, but like Spain’s Barcelona and Italy’s Napoli, will not be at the Club World Cup, because of the convoluted qualification process.
That means Egyptian winger Salah, who broke the Premier League record for goal involvements, with 29 strikes and 18 assists, misses out.
After a tiring season in which he faded in the latter months, he might not be too upset about a summer off.
However, it will be a shame that African football icon Salah, captain Virgil van Dijk and others miss out on the chance of a potential rematch against their Champions League conquerors, Paris Saint-Germain
Liverpool transfer target Florian Wirtz will also be absent, as his side Bayer Leverkusen did not qualify.
2. Lamine Yamal (Barcelona)
No player in world football this season has offered more excitement than Barcelona’s 17-year-old star Lamine Yamal.
The Spain winger has been in sensational form for his club this season and is one of the candidates to win the Ballon d’Or.
His thrilling dribbling and penchant for the spectacular make him one of the biggest draws at the moment.
He is often compared to former Barcelona great Lionel Messi, but because of the Spanish champions’ absence, may have missed out on his only chance to face the Argentina star, who will be there with Inter Miami.
Barcelona’s Raphinha, midfield maestro Pedri and veteran striker Robert Lewandowski are others who will be missed.
3. Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nassr)
Messi will also not go up against his long-time rival Ronaldo in the US.
The Portuguese striker, 40, was reported to be looking for a way to play in the tournament.
Fifa president Gianni Infantino had suggested Ronaldo might move from Saudi Arabian side Al Nassr to a team who had reached the event, saying that “discussions” were being held over it.
Five-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo, who won the Nations League with Portugal last weekend, indicated after the game, however, he was set to stay at Al Nassr.
“Some teams reached out to me,” the former Manchester United and Real Madrid star revealed on the eve of the Nations League final.
“Some made sense and others did not, but you can’t try and do everything. You can’t catch every ball.”
4. Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)
Champions League semi-finalists Arsenal are another team to miss out and after finishing the season trophyless, the Club World Cup would have been a chance to win some silverware.
England international Saka’s only club trophy, excluding the FA Community Shield, was an FA Cup win with Arsenal in 2020.
Mikel Arteta’s side showed this season they have improved to the point where they are in contention for major honours, including knocking out Real Madrid in the Champions League, but came up just short.
For a player of his quality, who has spent six seasons playing regularly at the top level, Saka could do with expanding his medal collection.
Arsenal will be disappointed to miss out on the prize money too, as they try to overhaul Liverpool and Manchester City, who have dominated the English game in recent seasons.
5. Neymar (Santos)
Brazilian icon Neymar struggled with injury at Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia and returned to Santos in January 2025, hoping to get fit and firing ahead of next summer’s World Cup.
The 33-year-old forward, despite fading with age, is still one of the biggest names in the game and his absence is also a blow in a commercial sense.
“Neymar, what can I say about him? He’s an outstanding player, who, for me, in my football cycle, is in the top three, with Cristiano and Messi,” said Brazil midfielder Casemiro.
With organisers struggling to sell tickets, Neymar’s presence would have been a boon.
–AFP
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Paris St Germain snatched a 2-0 win over Bayern Munich on Saturday to reach the Club World Cup semi-finals, with Ousmane Dembele embodying the composure of Luis Enrique’s side as he sealed the victory when his team were down to nine men.
Dembele found the back of the net six minutes into added time after being superbly set up by Achraf Hakimi and the French forward also shone defensively by pressing relentlessly and initiating the move that led to his decisive goal.
“I’d give the Ballon d’Or to Mr Ousmane Dembele,” coach Luis Enrique said after PSG’s Champions League final win over Inter Milan. “The way he defended…only that can be worth the Ballon d’Or. This is how you lead a team.”
Dembele proved his coach right once again against Bayern.
Rested for the group stage after sustaining a thigh injury and only coming off the bench after halftime in the last 16 and in the quarter-final, Dembele brought an incredible energy to a team who had been dominated by Bayern.
“It’s an important period for us. We had a score to settle with Bayern after the 2020 (Champions League) final (won by Bayern 1-0) and after they beat us earlier this season,” captain Marquinhos said. “We want to win this competition.”
PSG went ahead through Desire Doue, his first goal in the tournament.
“I try to help the team by scoring, but also with my efforts, notably defensively,” Doue said.
PSG, seeking a quadruple of titles after winning the Champions League, French Cup and the Ligue 1 title, will face Borussia Dortmund or Real Madrid for a place in the final.
They will be without centre back Willian Pacho and defender Lucas Hernandez, who picked up straight red cards after Doue’s opening goal.
“The first one is a clear red card,” coach Luis Enrique said. “I’m not sure about the second one. We deserved the win but it was really really hard. Nothing special. Business as usual.”
-Reuters
An 83rd-minute Weverton own goal from a deflected Malo Gusto cross gave Chelsea a nervy 2-1 win over a spirited Palmeiras side in the Club World Cup quarter-finals at Lincoln Financial Field on Friday.
Cole Palmer also got on the scoresheet in the first half for Chelsea, who move on to face more Brazilian opposition in Fluminense in New York on Tuesday with a place in the final on the line.
Palmeiras roared back after halftime with teenage winger Estevao, who is soon to join Chelsea, equalising in the 53rd minute with a stunning strike from a tight angle.
“Tough game as we expected,” said Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca. “First half, I think we were a little bit better compared to the second half, we controlled the game much better.
“But then they scored and the game changed but at the end we scored and I think we deserved to win. Congratulations to the players, because they have been very good.”
Chelsea started the match well despite missing key defensive midfield duo Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia, with 21-year-old Andrey Santos making his first start some two and a half years after joining the club.
They controlled possession and repeatedly threatened through Pedro Neto, who caused chaos for Palmeiras defence down the right flank.
Palmer struck in the 16th minute, receiving a pass from Trevoh Chalobah on the edge of the box and gliding past three defenders with ease before dispatching a precise left-footed strike into the bottom corner.
Despite their dominance, Chelsea squandered several opportunities, including Christopher Nkunku’s glaring miss in the 34th minute when he blasted over with only goalkeeper Weverton to beat.
Palmeiras, missing key defenders Joaquin Piquerez, Gustavo Gomez and Murilo, struggled to contain Chelsea’s fluid attack in the first half but emerged from the break with renewed energy.
They nearly equalised when Bruno Fuchs headed narrowly wide from a corner before Estevao worked his magic with an effort that should be a strong candidate for goal of the tournament so far.
The 18-year-old showcased his immense talent by cutting in from the right, gliding past Levi Colwill and smashing an unstoppable shot from a tight angle that flew over keeper Robert Sanchez and off the underside of the crossbar.
“Happy because we won, happy because he scored, so it’s a perfect night,” Maresca said of his new signing.
Just when Palmeiras looked at their most dangerous, though, Chelsea found the winner down the other end.
Gusto found space down the left and his attempted cross deflected off defender Fuchs and wrongfooted Weverton, the ball bouncing off the goalkeeper’s back and into the net to end Palmeiras dreams of an all-Brazilian semi-final.
-Reuters
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The expanded soccer Club World Cup is proving to be a stage for managerial fresh starts, with three of the eight quarter-finalists led by coaches appointed just weeks before the tournament – and all three have already stamped their authority on their new teams.
Arguably none has made a bigger splash than Simone Inzaghi, who delivered one of the tournament’s biggest shocks when his Al Hilal side stunned Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City 4-3 in a breathtaking extra-time thriller.
The 49-year-old Italian, who left Inter Milan after their Champions League final defeat to Paris Saint-Germain just five weeks ago, got sweet revenge on Monday against the Premier League giants who had beaten his Nerazzurri in the 2023 Champions League final.
Inzaghi took the win by playing steady, rock-solid defence and exploring the speed of his forwards up-front with long balls that exploited their opponent’s aggressive, high-positioned defensive line.
Malcom and Marcos Leonardo were a constant menace on the counter-attack throughout the match, while his defenders managed to slow down City’s star-powered attack for most of the game.
And when they were threatened, Moroccan goalkeeper Bono worked his magic with a string of world-class saves to frustrate their opponents and keep the Saudis in the game.
Al Hilal’s reward is a quarter-final clash with tournament underdogs Fluminense, who defied the Opta supercomputer’s odds of just 0.05% to win the title and stunned Champions League runners-up Inter Milan 2-0 to reach the last eight.
Initially tipped to exit in the group stage, the Brazilian side’s remarkable run continues under Renato Gaucho, a former Fluminense striker and club legend who took charge three months ago. Renato has transformed a team that narrowly avoided relegation in 2024 into genuine contenders, with Colombian winger Jhon Arias emerging as a potential tournament MVP.
Against Inter, Fluminense showed the grit and determination that have defined their campaign with a remarkable Arias and striker German Cano once again making the difference.
Real Madrid complete the trio of new-manager success stories, with Xabi Alonso arriving a month ago to replace Carlo Ancelotti after a rare trophy-less season that included four consecutive defeats to Barcelona, including a humiliating 4-0 Clasico thrashing at the Bernabeu.
Arriving with a reputation for innovative tactics following his trophy-laden stint at Bayer Leverkusen, Alonso has started using a five-man defence, marking a significant departure from the traditional 4-3-3 formation used by predecessors Ancelotti and Zinedine Zidane over the past decade.
The change evoked memories of Vicente del Bosque’s 2000 Champions League-winning side, the last Real Madrid team to adopt such a structure, as Real prepare to face Borussia Dortmund on Saturday off the back of three consecutive wins.
As the tournament progresses, the early success of these new managerial appointments suggests that fresh ideas and bold decisions can reshape even the most storied teams.
-Reuters
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