Christiansen: FIFA Club World Cup is huge opportunity for talented youngsters | OneFootball

Izzy Christiansen says our exciting Academy talents have to be ready to take their chance at this summer’s FIFA Club World Cup.

City head to the United States in June for the inaugural edition of the 32-team expanded format to face the best sides from around the globe.

We’ve been drawn in Group G with Moroccan side Wydad AC, Abu Dhabi-based Al Ain and Italian giants Juventus, with the top two to progress to the Round of 16.

How to watch the FIFA Club World Cup

With our opening game coming around three weeks after the end of the Premier League, it presents an interesting chance for new faces to bed themselves into Pep Guardiola’s squad.

With Phil Foden, Rico Lewis, James McAtee and Nico O'Reilly all regularly involved, there's examples for those with Ben Wilkinson's Premier League 2 title-chasers to follow.

Speaking on our Matchday Live show for Tuesday night’s clash with Aston Villa, former City midfielder Christiansen says those prospects will be relishing the opportunity to play in the pressure of a major tournament.

“It’s a great opportunity to use younger players, get them ingrained and get them minutes on the pitch,” she began.

“This a moment of high motivation for those younger players, who may have the chance to put on the shirt in a competitive game in big stadiums at first team level.

“It’s part of equipping the team for the future. It’s exciting and it’s different.

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“This season has not gone how we planned it to go.

“We want to be challenging for titles but that’s not happened in the league so this is another piece of silverware to aim for.”

Christiansen was joined on the panel for that game by Joleon Lescott, who has been part of several tours and official trips to the United States in recent years.

WATCH: WATCH: See who City drew in Group G of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025

During that time he’s seen our fanbase stateside grow exponentially as Guardiola’s team have been a leading force in European football.

He made it clear that there will be plenty of City shirts in the stands across Philadelphia, Atlanta and Orlando during our group stage matches.

“There’s a big following out there for City in a lot of cities these days,” he said.

“The opportunity is there now to get some new fans and for existing ones that don’t get to see City in competitive matches. That’s one of the really good elements to it.”

How to follow the FIFA Club World Cup 2025

DAZN will broadcast every minute from the event, with all 63 matches, live-streamed, free to view on DAZN globally, and in multiple languages.

If you are already a DAZN subscriber or Freemium member, then the competition is part of your current membership.

City’s page on DAZN’s website

To sign up for a free DAZN account now you only need an email address to register, with no hidden costs or fees.

You can then watch all the action on the DAZN App via smart TVs, smartphones, tablets, streaming devices, game consoles and web browsers.

Join now to be ready to watch DAZN’s coverage for free.

Every City match will be covered in full across mancity.com and our official app, with our usual offering of a Matchday Centre and Matchday Live followed by a match report, written and video reaction and highlights from the US.