INTER MIAMI
How can Inter Miami qualify for FIFA Club World Cup if they are knocked out of CONCACF Champions Cup?
If The Herons lose to Monterrey in the second leg of the tie, they would lose out on the last ticket to the new FIFA Club World Cup.
FIFA will present a revolutionary new format of the Club World Cup in June 2025. The tournament will last almost a month and will see a total of 32 teams from the 6 continental confederations go against each other. At this moment, 21 of the 32 participants in the upcoming edition are already known.
CONCACAF has four places available that are distributed among each of the last champions of the CONCACAF Champions Cup, meaning only the 2024 champion remains vacant: it is the last ticket available through official competitions for Messi, Suárez and company, who made life extremely complicated for themselves on Wednesday when they lost 1-2 at Chase Stadium to their Liga MX opponents, CF Monterrey.
· READ ALSO: Messi allegedly involved in altercation between players, referees and staff
Which teams have already qualified for the Club World Cup 2025?
After being defeated at home against Monterrey, the Florida side must overturn the deficit if they want to continue dreaming of the double reward that would be to win the CONCACAF Champions Cup and the coveted ticket to the Club World Cup. It must be remembered that, if they pull off the comeback in the second leg and get through the tie, they would still have the semi-finals and final ahead of them.
| CONFEDERATION | NUMBER OF TEAMS | TEAMS |
|---|---|---|
| AFC | 4 | Al Hilal, Urawa Red Diamonds, Winners of the 2023-24 AFC Champions League, TBC |
| CAF | 4 | Al Ahly, Wydad Casablanca, Winners of the 2023-24 CAF Champions League, TBC |
| CONCACAF | 4 | Monterrey, Seattle Sounders, Leon, Winners of the 2024 CONCACAF Champions League |
| CONMEBOL | 6 | Palmeiras, Fluminense, Flamengo, Winners of the 2024 Copa Libertadores, TBC, TBC |
| UEFA | 12 | Chelsea, Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, PSG, Inter, Porto, Benfica, Borussia Dortmund, Juventus, Winners of the 2023-24 Champions League, TBC |
| OFC | 1 | Auckland City |
| CONCACAF (Host) | 1 | TBC |
Messi and Miami have a Plan B to qualify
Fortunately for Inter Miami, the CONCACAF Champions Cup is not really the last ticket on offer for MLS sides. The United States has a place as host that has not yet been assigned. Although it is not yet known how this American representative will be chosen, Inter Miami will certainly be an appealing option among the teams available.
Messi is the poster boy of the MLS and as such, the best representative of football in the country in all areas. With 15 months to go until the start of the tournament, whether or not the Argentine will be present is once again one of the big questions floating around the world of football.
Inter Miami will now aim to turn the tie around in the intriguing second leg when the two side go again, this time at the Estadio BBVA in Monterrey, México next Wednesday, April 10 at 10:30 p.m. ET / 7:30 p.m. PT. You can follow that game live with AS USA.