The draw for the restructured FIFA Club World Cup is set to take place tonight (Thursday) - but Arsenal won't be in the mix.
At 6pm UK time, 32 of the world’s elite clubs will discover their opponents in the quest to be crowned the best club side over the past four seasons. The fresh format marks a significant shift from the previous seven-team tournament, which took place over 11 days at a single venue.
Last year, the FIFA Council elected to expand the competition to include 32 teams, who will compete on US soil. The tournament, scheduled to take place from June 15 to July 13, will squeeze 63 matches into 28 days.
However, due to a limit of two clubs per country, Arsenal failed to qualify for the new format. Among the 12 European qualifiers are Chelsea and Manchester City, who won the UEFA Champions League in 2021 and 2023 respectively, securing the only two English places available through the UEFA ranking route.
Once the limit was reached, clubs from the same nation could only qualify by winning the 2023/24 Champions League. Chelsea, Real Madrid and City secured their spots through their Champions League victories.
Arsenal under Mikel Arteta last season were knocked out in the quarter-final stage of the competition by Bayern Munich, meaning they failed to lift the trophy and therefore qualify. The Gunners have not won either trophy to date.
Manchester United did not win last season's Champions League either, while Premier League rivals Liverpool did not participate and therefore stood no chance of qualifying. RB Leipzig, Napoli, Barcelona, Sevilla and AC Milan also missed out on qualifying for the 2025 edition through the UEFA ranking path.
Manchester City celebrate lifting the 2023 Club World Cup in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Manchester City won the previous version of the 2023 Club World Cup in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (Image: Getty Images)
Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Inter Milan, Porto, Benfica, Borussia Dortmund, Red Bull Salzburg, Juventus and Atletico Madrid, were the other nine European clubs to qualify, thanks to UEFA's four-year ranking system.
The remaining teams from across the globe include: Palmeiras, Flamengo, Fluminense, Botafogo, River Plate, Boca Juniors, Monterrey, Seattle Sounders FC, Leon, Pachuca, Al Hilal, Urawa Red Diamonds, Al Ain, Ulsan HD, Al Ahly, Wydad AC, Esperance de Tunis, Mamelodi Sundowns, and Auckland City.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino announced Inter Miami's participation in the 2025 Club World Cup following their win over the New England Revolution
FIFA President Gianni Infantino announced Inter Miami's participation in the 2025 Club World Cup (Image: Getty)
The 32nd spot was reserved for a representative of the host nation, meaning Lionel Messi will compete with Inter Miami, albeit in controversial fashion as Miami were not actually MLS champions.
The 2025 CWC will be made up of eight groups of four teams, with each team playing the others once in the group phase. Two teams from each group will progress to the last-16 in a straight knockout competition, battling for a prize of up to £50million.
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Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta, Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Jesus with the Arsenal Therapy Dog Win during the Arsenal Men's team group shoot at London Colney on September 18, 2023
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