The Club World Cup. A bold new era for the world’s most popular sport - or a major inconvenience, shoe-horned into a soccer calendar that is already at saturation point?

Team USA is scheduled to debut on Friday, June 12, in Los Angeles at SoFi Stadium. After that, the U.S. team will play on Friday, June 19, at Seattle’s Lumen Field, and then return to Los Angeles for a match on June 25.

Cristiano Ronaldo says he's almost certain he will not be playing at the Club World Cup, dealing a blow to FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s hopes of having one of soccer’s biggest attractions at the tournament.