SEATTLE — The FIFA Club World Cup is just around the corner, and we’re getting a look at the players with ties to our state:
Weston McKennie
Midfielder for Juventus FC, an Italian association football club
He was born at Fort Lewis.
Cody Baker
Defender for Seattle Sounders FC
Was born in Issaquah.
Jacob Castro
Goalkeeper with Seattle Sounders FC
He was raised in Spanaway.
Castro played college soccer with the University of Washington Huskies and the San Diego State Aztecs from 2019 to 2022. He signed with the Sounders in December 2022.
Jackson Ragen
Defender for Seattle Sounders FC
He is from Seattle and began his youth career with a neighborhood rec team, where he played with future Sounders teammate Paul Rothrock.
Paul Rothrock
Forward for Seattle Sounders FC
He grew up in Seattle and was part of the Sounders academy system as a youth player.
Rothrock was drafted by Toronto FC in Canada in 2021 and played for their reserve team for two seasons before transferring to the Tacoma Defiance, the reserve squad of the Sounders, in 2023.
Jordan Morris
Forward for Seattle Sounders FC
He grew up on Mercer Island and joined the Sounders youth academy before playing college soccer at Stanford University.
He signed with Sounders FC in 2016.
Reed Baker-Whiting
Midfielder for Seattle Sounders FC
In July 2020, Baker-Whiting signed with Tacoma Defiance.
In May 2021, Baker-Whiting signed with Seattle Sounders FC.
Stuart Hawkins
Defender for Seattle Sounders FC
His hometown is Fox Island.
The tournament
The tournament, which will be held in the United States this year, kicks off June 14.
It’ll feature 32 teams from around the world, including the Seattle Sounders and Inter Miami – the only ones from the U.S.
The teams are divided into eight groups of four. Each team will play three matches in a round-robin format. The top two teams from each group advance to a 16-team knockout stage. The matches will continue until a champion is crowned.
The final match will take place on July 13 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
Six matches will be played at Lumen Field in Seattle:
- June 15: Botafogo vs. Seattle Sounders (Group B)
- June 17: River Plate vs. Urawa Red Diamonds (Group E)
- June 19: Seattle Sounders vs. Atlético Madrid (Group B)
- June 21: Inter Milan vs. Urawa Red Diamonds (Group E)
- June 23: Seattle Sounders vs. Paris Saint-Germain (Group B)
- June 23: Inter Milan vs. River Plate (Group E)
The Club World Cup launched as an eight-team FIFA tournament in 2000, then resumed on an annual basis in 2005 as a replacement for the Intercontinental Cup.
Tickets to attend the 2025 Club World Cup are available at FIFA.com/tickets.
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