Arsenal dashed their hopes of qualifying for the inaugural 32-team Club World Cup which will be held in 2025, after crashing out of the UEFA Champions League in the quarter-finals.
The Gunners were confident of securing a second-leg win over Bayern Munich after playing out a 2-2 draw at the Emirates in the first leg of the tie.
However, Mikel Arteta’s side couldn’t distort Bayern Munich, who were confident on the night and scored the crucial goal to secure passage to the semi-finals.
Arsenal now focus on the remainder of matches this season, hoping to get back to winning ways, after suffering decisive blows in their last 2 fixtures.
The Gunners’ hopes of winning the Premier League appear gone with the wind, after losing their grip at the summit of the table following their loss to Aston Villa on Sunday, April 14, 2024.
The UEFA Champions League which they also had high hopes of clinching has also evaporated off their presence, and they will not be picking up the final slot available to Europe for the Club World Cup.
Which team got the final slot from Europe for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup?
Manchester City, who were defeated on Wednesday, April 17, 2024, and Chelsea are the two teams that will be representing England, with Austrian giants RB Salzburg handed the slot that Arsenal could have taken if they had won the UEFA Champions League.
Salzburg have never won a European trophy and have only made it out of the Champions League group stage once in their history.
However, they will be participating in the competition, as they are the highest-ranked side in Austria based on Uefa’s coefficient table.
This is because only two teams can be handed slots from domestic leagues, except if they win the UEFA Champions League which Arsenal failed to do.
Italy will be represented by Inter Milan and Juventus, while Germany have Bayern and Borussia Dortmund.
Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid will take part in the tournament from Spain, while Porto and Benfica will hoist the flag of Portugal.
In different confederations, different teams will also represent those continents, with Asia being represented by Saudi Arabian giants Al Hilal and Japanese side Urawa Red Diamonds.
Flamengo, Palmeiras, and Fluminense are three Brazilian teams that have made it to the competition, having respectively won the last 3 editions of the Copa Libertadores.
Argentina’s storied teams; River Plate and Boca Juniors are likely to participate in the Club World Cup as high-ranked clubs in South America’s quota of six entries.
Meanwhile, Seattle Sounders and Mexican clubs Leon and Monterrey will be joined by another team from the CONCACAF Confederation.
One slot reserved for a team in America being the host nation
One slot is also reserved for a team from the United States Of America, as part of a Club World Cup tradition to accommodate champions of host nations.
Al Ahly of Egypt and Morocco’s Wydad Casablanca have made it through from Africa, while Auckland City from New Zealand will represent the Oceania region.
Anyway, the entirety of the teams that will participate in the competition is expected to be confirmed on November 30, 2024.
This is because the last of the continental club competition finals for 2024 – Copa Libertadores, will be played on that day.
