Barcelona’s exit from the Champions League on Tuesday sent Atletico Madrid to the inaugural 32-team Club World Cup in the United States next year.
Europe will have 12 teams at the lucrative monthlong
tournament — title winners of the Champions League in the four seasons through
this one plus high-ranked teams based on overall results in the competition in
this period.
Barcelona began play Tuesday trailing Atletico in the
rankings to take the second Club World Cup entry from Spain and lost 4-1 to
Paris Saint-Germain in the home leg of their quarterfinals. Barcelona was
eliminated 6-4 on aggregate score.
Atletico also was eliminated from the Champions League
losing 4-2 at Borussia Dortmund, and 5-4 on aggregate, but its Club World Cup
place is secure.
Atletico is the 22nd team to qualify for the inaugural
32-team edition of the Club World Cup that will be played in cities across the
U.S. from June 15-July 13 next year. The expanded format will be played every
four years instead of annually.
FIFA expects to pay tens of millions of dollars in prize
money to each team at a tournament that will be without European powers like
Barcelona, Manchester United, Liverpool and AC Milan. Also missing will be
Lionel Messi’s current club Inter Miami and Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr.
In the lineup from Europe are the past three Champions
League winners — Chelsea, Real Madrid and Manchester City — plus high-ranked
Bayern Munich, PSG, Inter Milan, Porto, Dortmund, Benfica, Juventus and now
Atletico.
The last European entry will be either Arsenal, if it wins
this Champions League edition, or Salzburg.
The Austrian champion could get in despite being ranked
below the likes of Liverpool, Barcelona and Milan because countries are limited
by FIFA to two entries unless they have more than two continental champions.
Three Brazilian teams — Flamengo, Palmeiras and Fluminense —
have qualified as Copa Libertadores winners since 2021. Argentina’s storied
rivals River Plate and Boca Juniors are likely to qualify as high-ranked teams
in South America’s quota of six entries.
Seattle Sounders and Mexican teams Leon and Monterrey will
be joined by another team from the CONCACAF region. The Champions Cup final is
on June 2. Another U.S. team should qualify as part of a Club World Cup
tradition to include the host nation’s champion.
In Asia, Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia and Japan’s Urawa Red
Diamonds of Japan are in. Al Ahly of Egypt and Wydad Casablanca of Morocco have
qualified from Africa and Auckland City of New Zealand will represent Oceania.
The last of the continental finals in 2024 is South
America’s Copa Libertadores on Nov. 30. AP
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