Juventus, Milan and Napoli compete for one of the 12 UEFA places to accompany the Nerazzurri in the competition that will be held in 2025 in the United States
Victory, round of 16 of the Champions League and… pass to the 2025 Club World Cup. The penalty converted by Lautaro Martínez in Salzburg opened wonderful scenarios for Inter, already sure of having been first in the group and, furthermore, confident to participate in the innovative edition of the World Cup in two years, in the United States. A classification that, in view of the recent results of the Champions League, was in reality just a formality. The four-year competition will feature 32 teams, with eight groups of four. The Nerazzurri are thus the sixth European team (out of 12) to have a guaranteed flight to the United States. And the others?
THE QUALIFIED
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Inter, then Bayern Munich, PSG, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Manchester City: these are the European clubs that have already qualified for the Club World Cup. The last three are, in fact, the recent winners of the Champions League (the four – the 2020/24 period is considered), to which the current season will be added. Bayern, Inter and PSG have reached the goal through the ranking that considers the results obtained in the competition since 2020. The last four winners of the Champions League plus another eight (with three places already assigned): these will be the qualified teams . What are others missing?
THE TWO SYSTEMS
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Only points obtained in the Champions League count, not in the European League and the Conference League. A fundamental aspect is that a country cannot bring more than two clubs to the competition: considering that Chelsea and Manchester City have already won the Champions League and therefore automatically obtained the pass, England already has all the places occupied. The only possibility is that a team other than City (Arsenal, Newcastle or Manchester United) wins the Champions League this year: in that case, it would enter as champion of the 2023/24 edition. Therefore, Liverpool are certainly out, despite their excellent position in the standings. The thing is that the points calculation system is not official yet. In fact, there are currently two possible methods: on the one hand, the UEFA classification by clubs (2 points for victory, 1 for draw, 4 for participation, 5 for round of 16, 1 for quarterfinals, semifinals and finals), another, a new system proposed by FIFA that would award 3 victory points, 1 for a draw, 5 for participation and a stop.
UEFA CLASSIFICATION
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Whatever the calculation system, Inter cannot be surpassed by any Italian team in the standings. Certainly more uncertain and complicated is the discussion about the second place available for Serie A clubs: at the moment there is Juventus, which however cannot score points in this edition. In this way, the Bianconeri can be overtaken by Milan and Naples, and the Rossoneri slightly ahead of the Neapolitans, whatever method is considered. If the UEFA ranking were applied, Milan would have 39 points and Naples 34, while Juve would have 47: the five points would derive from progress to the round of 16, considering that they would also be the result of positive results that provide other points. , the two teams would have great chances of beating the Bianconeri. There is little chance for Lazio: they should win the 2023-2024 Champions League for a place in the United States.
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THE ALTERNATIVE
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However, if the system proposed by FIFA were approved, the situation would be different. With advantage for Juventus. In fact, the Bianconeri would have 52 points, Milan with 42 and Naples with 39. Without the five points to advance to the round of 16, to reduce the gap the two teams would need to win several games (+3 for each success). , with passing the group stage which at this point would no longer be enough. In short, the scenario can change quite a bit. And Italy is not the only country in which there could be an “internal” race for qualification for the Club World Cup: let’s think about Spain: with Real Madrid already sure of its place, the dualism is between Atlético de Madrid and Barcelona. Just as the duel between Borussia Dortmund and Leipzig in Germany is alive.
