Arsenal must win the Champions League if they are to secure the last remaining place in next year’s expanded Club World Cup; otherwise, a European minnow is on its way to taking the spot.
After a 2-2 draw at the Emirates last week, Mikel Arteta’s men must beat Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday night. reach the Champions League semi-final for the first time in 15 years.
But Arsenal have to go all the way and lift European football’s biggest trophy for the first time in their history if they want to qualify for the Club World Cup.
The renewed version of the tournament will have 32 teams, 12 of which will represent UEFA and six will represent CONMEBOL, its South American counterpart.
The AFC, CAF and CONCACAF will be represented by four clubs each, with the OFC and the host association receiving one seat each.
Arsenal must win the Champions League to qualify for next year’s Club World Cup.
The Gunners face Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday night.
Harry Kane (right) scored as the Bundesliga giants earned a 2-2 draw at the Emirates.
The winners of each confederation’s main club competition between 2021 and 2024 have qualified for the tournament, with the remaining teams to be determined by a club ranking over a four-year period.
In practical terms, it means that 11 of the 12 UEFA positions have already been filled.
Chelsea, Real Madrid and Manchester City have qualified thanks to having won the Champions League in the last three seasons.
Meanwhile, eight other clubs (Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, Porto, Benfica, Borussia Dortmund, Juventus and Atlético Madrid) have qualified according to UEFA’s four-year classification.
The last place up for grabs is reserved for the winners of this season’s Champions League, which is where the process gets complicated.
Of the six teams remaining in the competition, Arsenal are the only club that does not meet UEFA’s four-year qualification criteria to qualify for the Club World Cup.
The Gunners’ only chance to participate in the tournament is, therefore, to win the Champions League for the first time.
If Arsenal fail to lift the trophy at Wembley next month, the remaining place would go to Red Bull Salzburg.
Manchester City has qualified for the Club World Cup after winning the Champions League last season.
Chelsea will also participate in the tournament after lifting the Champions League in 2021
The Austrians are 18th in UEFA’s four-year coefficient table, but are the highest-ranked club eligible to participate in the tournament.
Liverpool, RB Leipzig, Barcelona, Napoli, Sevilla and AC Milan are ranked above Salzburg, but the Club World Cup is limited to a maximum of two teams per league.
Both places for the Premier League, Bundesliga, Serie A and La Liga are already filled.
The warning, however, does not apply to Champions League winners, meaning the Premier League could have three representatives if Arsenal triumph this season.
Salzburg have never won a European trophy, going so far as to lose the 1994 UEFA Cup final to Inter Milan when it was still known as Austria Salzburg.
Salzburg had to wait 61 years for its first league title in 1994 before adding two more in the next three years, but has become the dominant force in Austrian football since being acquired by Red Bull in 2006.
If Arsenal fail to win the Champions League, the remaining UEFA place for the Club World Cup will go to RB Salzburg
RB Salzburg have won the last 10 consecutive Austrian Bundesliga titles
RB Salzburg have won the Austrian Bundesliga in 14 of the last 18 seasons, finishing runners-up on the other four occasions and are currently looking to win their 11th consecutive title.
RB have reached the group stage of the Champions League in the last four seasons and reached the round of 16 for the first time in 2022, when Bayern defeated them 8-2 on aggregate.
This season, they finished last in Group D with four points behind Real Sociedad, Inter Milan and Benfica.