FC Salzburg on a long journey: highly anticipated Club World Cup in the USA!

FC Salzburg on a long journey: highly anticipated Club World Cup in the USA!

There are exciting times ahead for FC Red Bull Salzburg as the Club World Cup, which will be held for the first time in the new 32-team format, will take place in the USA. The tournament, which has existed since 2000 and was previously known as the FIFA Club World Championship, offers a very special challenge for Austrian footballers this year. On Friday, June 13th, a delegation of 26 people, consisting of players, coaches and staff, will set off for New York. Their base camp will be in New Jersey, while the group games will be played in cities such as Cincinnati, Washington and Philadelphia, as pnp.de reports.

In the group stage, Salzburg will face well-known opponents: CF Pachuca, Al-Hilal and Real Madrid. An exciting duel against the Royals is scheduled for June 27th at 3 a.m. CET at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. This game is already sold out and 55,000 fans will be there to support their teams. The coaches of the three group opponents have changed recently, which doesn't make preparing for the games any easier for Red Bull Salzburg. Coach Thomas Letsch has already played against Real Madrid's new coach Xabi Alonso three times in the Bundesliga, but the uncertainty about Alonso's style of play makes analysis a challenge, as sn.at reports.

New additions and injuries

Salzburg has strengthened in the current transfer period. New additions such as Sota Kitano from Cerezo Osaka, Frans Krätzig from FC Heidenheim, Stefan Lainer from Borussia Mönchengladbach and Jacob Rasmussen from Bröndby BK will make their contribution in the USA. The returnees Soumaila Diabate and Jonas Krumrey, who were previously on loan, will also be part of the squad. The young talents Enrique Aguilar, Jannik Schuster and Christian Zawieschitzky from the Liefering Academy also have a chance to shine on the international stage.

But not everything goes according to plan. Alex Schlager, one of the four goalkeepers, has suffered a hand injury and his appearance in the USA is uncertain. The squad will have to adapt a bit before things get serious. Speaking of seriousness: A planned test match against SV Seekirchen on June 12th had to be canceled due to a tragic incident in Graz.

A look at the competition

In Group H, the other teams are all under new coaches, which further complicates Red Bull Salzburg's situation. Pachuca is currently managed by Jaime Lozano, former coach of the Mexican national team. Al-Hilal have signed Simone Inzaghi, who previously reached the Champions League final with Inter Milan. The changes in the coaching bodies of both clubs could represent a big unknown for Salzburg.

The Club World Cup, now scheduled to take place every four years in the new format, aims to create greater representation of different continental associations, similar to the structure of the national team World Cup. In view of these new challenges, it is important for Salzburg to arm themselves well and assert themselves against the strongest competition. All Club World Cup games will be broadcast live on DAZN, so fans don't have to miss a Salzburg duel.

Another exciting date will follow on June 18th at 6 p.m.: the team will find out the draw for the Champions League qualification. So a month full of football sensations is upon us!