MUNICH (AP) — Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid — Salzburg.
The Austrian team will participate in the Club World Cup to be held in the United States next year.With the shutout of Bayern Munich, Salzburg secured the last of 12 spots for European clubs. Won 3-2 on aggregate They faced Arsenal in the Champions League quarter-finals on Wednesday.
Arsenal could qualify for the revamped tournament, which is held every four years, only if they win this season's Champions League. Teams can qualify for the Club World Cup by winning the Champions League from 2021 onwards or through a ranking system based on their Champions League performance over four seasons.
Salzburg benefited from the rule that only two teams per country can qualify, unless that country has won the Champions League three times in the past four years. This meant Arsenal needed to win this year's competition in order to join 2021 winners Chelsea and last year's winners City, two other eligible English clubs. Other European teams that did not qualify include Liverpool, Manchester United, Barcelona And Milan. Lionel Messi's Inter Miami and Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nasr will also be absent.
A solid but modest result was enough for Salzburg. They have appeared in the Champions League group stage in each of the past four seasons, but have only reached the round of 16 once. 2022 Lost to Bayern Munich 8-2 on aggregate. Over the past four seasons, Salzburg have played a total of 26 games in the Champions League, winning just six of them.
Salzburg general manager Stefan Reiter said: “We are thrilled that our Salzburg Way has led us to the FIFA Club World Cup and that we will have the chance to compete against the best club teams in the world in recent years in the summer of 2025. It's wonderful,” he said. . “We don't know any details about the tournament, but we already know it will be a big challenge.”
UEFA's own ranking system for European competitions (different from the FIFA system used in the Club World Cup) lists Salzburg as the 40th strongest team in Europe, between Croatia's Dinamo Zagreb and Dutch club AZ Alkmaar. It is being
The lineup from Europe includes the past three Champions League winners (Chelsea, Real Madrid, City), as well as top teams Bayern Munich, PSG, Inter Milan, Porto, Dortmund, Benfica, Juventus, Atletico Madrid, And this time Salzburg is on the list.
Since 2021, three Brazilian teams (Flamengo, Palmeiras and Fluminense) have qualified for the Copa Libertadores. Argentina's storied rivals River Plate and Boca Juniors are likely to qualify as the top six teams in South America.
The Seattle Sounders and Mexican teams Leon and Monterrey will be joined by another team from the CONCACAF region. The Champions Cup final will be held on June 2nd. Another U.S. team will also have to qualify, including the host nation's champion, as part of Club World Cup tradition.
In Asia, Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal and Japan's Urawa Reds are participating. From Africa, Egypt's Al Ahly and Morocco's Wydad Casablanca have qualified, while New Zealand's Auckland City will represent Oceania.
The final continental final in 2024 will be the Copa Libertadores in South America, to be held on November 30th.
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