Gianni Infantino confirmed at Chase Stadium that Inter Miami will play in the FIFA Club World Cup next summer, like MARCA had already reported. Leo Messi's team will do it as a guest as the best team in the MLS regular season, thus occupying the number of teams that FIFA must invite from the host country of the tournament which will be held next year from June 15 to July 13.
Furthermore, the FIFA President announced that the first match of the tournament will take place precisely in Miami, Hard Rock Stadium. The announcement was made official after another remarkable performance from Messi, the main star of Inter Miami's 6-2 win over New England Revolution.
The Argentine appeared on the field in the 57th minute, giving him enough time to score three goals and provide an assist. His team was trailing by two goals and the work of Luis Suarez helped tie the score. The victory also marks a record for Inter Miami, reaching 74 points, the highest number in an MLS regular season.
Only one team missing
With the confirmation of the participation of Lionel Messi's team, there are already 31 teams qualified for the FIFA Club World Cup. There is only one thing left, since there is only one place left in the tournament, who will be the champion of the Libertadores Cup.
The final of CONMEBOL The tournament will be played in December and the semi-finals have not yet been played. Atletico Mineiro, Peñarol, Botafogo or Olimpia of Paraguay, if River Plate, semi-finalist, is Cup champion, are competing for this place. The 31 already present are as follows:
CONCACAF: Monterrey, León and Pachuca (Mexico); Seattle Sounders and Inter Miami (United States).
CONMEBOL: Palmeiras, Flamengo and Fluminense due to their previous championships in the last Libertadores Cups, as well as Boca Juniors and River Plate due to their historic points obtained in the standings.
UEFA: Chelsea (as Champions of the 2021 Champions League), Real Madrid (Champions of the Champions League during their 2022 and 2024 editions) and Manchester City (Champions of the 2023 Champions League). Also participating are Bayern, PSG, Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund, Porto, Atlético Madrid, Benfica, Juventus and Red Bull Salzburgo due to their world rankings.
ASIA: Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia), Urawa Red Diamonds (Japan), Ulsan (South Korea) and Al Ain (2024 Champions Cup Champions).
AFRICA: Al-Ahly (Egypt), Wydad (Morocco), Espérance (Tunisia) and Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa).
OCEANIA: Auckland City (New Zealand).
Source link: https://www.marca.com/en/football/fifa-club-world-cup/2024/10/20/67145a09ca47418b3e8b4573.html