FIFA Club World Cup 2025: Asian stars to play for City | OneFootball

City will face Asian opposition in the shape of United Arab Emirates-based Al Ain at this summer’s FIFA Club World Cup.

We’ll go up against the Abu Dhabi club in Atlanta on Monday 23 June in our second match at the new look, expanded tournament held across the US.

Matches against Wydad of Morocco and Italian giants Juventus will complete Group G either side of this one, with the top two to progress to the knockout stages.

GET YOUR FIFA CLUB WORLD CUP 2025 TICKETS NOW

So, we’ll be looking to take all three points when we play the 2023/24 AFC Champions League winners.

As part of our build-up and to celebrate the diversity of City through the years, we’ve previously looked at our most prominent players from Africa.

While we’ve had fewer players born across Asia, there are still a couple of old familiar names as well as current favourites who feature here.

Sun Jihai

One of China's greatest ever footballers, Sun Jihai was a cult hero at City between 2002 and 2008.

The full-back was known for his tireless running and incredible commitment to the cause.

He also became the first ever East Asian player to score in the Premier League in October 2002 – heading home against Birmingham City.

Jihai remained a fan favourite throughout his time in Manchester, making 151 appearances before leaving at the end of the 2007/08 campaign.

Eyal Berkovic

Born in Regba in Israel in the Middle East, Berkovic was a creative midfielder that captured imaginations as part of Kevin Keegan’s entertainers that ran away with the 2001/02 Division One title.

His partnership with Ali Benarbia in particular helped create an incredible amount of chances for the likes of Shaun Goater to put away.

In total, he played 67 times for City between 2001 and 2003, scoring nine goals.

Tal Ben Haim

Also Israeli, Ben Haim featured just 15 times in 2008/09 before a loan to Sunderland in the second half of the season and a move to Portsmouth the following summer.

Abdukodir Khusanov

A January 2025 signing who has hit the ground running with some impressive defensive displays, the 21-year-old Uzbek international will be hoping to forge a long career at the Etihad Stadium.

He’s already played nine times since joining despite coming in midway through the campaign so you can expect him to build on that experience quickly.

He’ll no doubt be a key part of Pep Guardiola’s squad as this summer’s tournament progresses.

Yasser Hussein

A winger or attacking midfielder, Hussein featured regularly for the Qatar national team between 2001 and 2011 but could only manage one City appearance – a League Cup tie with Doncaster Rovers in September 2005.

Women’s players

Our Barclays Women’s Super League squad currently has a fantastic Japanese contingent including Yui Hasegawa, Ayaka Yamashita, Aoba Fujino, Risa Shimizu and Aemu Oyama.

They’re not the first Asian players to feature for our women’s side, with Korean international Lee Geum-min playing a handful of matches in 2019.

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.