Barcelona’s departure from the Champions League on Tuesday means that Atlético Madrid will be going to the first-ever 32-team Club World Cup in the United States next year.
Europe will have 12 teams at this important month-long tournament — including the winners of the Champions League over the last four seasons, plus top-ranked teams based on their overall performance during this time.
Barcelona was trailing Atlético in the rankings and needed to win against Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday. However, they lost 4-1 in the home leg of their quarterfinals, getting eliminated 6-4 on aggregate score.
Although Atlético also got knocked out of the Champions League, they secured their place in the Club World Cup despite losing to Borussia Dortmund.
Atlético is now the 22nd team to qualify for the Club World Cup, which will be held across various cities in the U.S. from June 15 to July 13 next year. This tournament will happen every four years instead of annually.
FIFA expects to give each team a lot of prize money at the event, even though some big European clubs like Barcelona, Manchester United, Liverpool, and AC Milan won’t be there. Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami and Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr will also be absent.
However, the European lineup includes recent Champions League winners like Chelsea, Real Madrid, and Manchester City, along with other strong teams like Bayern Munich, PSG, Inter Milan, Porto, Dortmund, Benfica, Juventus, and now Atlético.
The final European spot will be taken by either Arsenal or Salzburg, depending on who wins this year’s Champions League. Austria’s Salzburg might still make it in, even though they are ranked lower because FIFA limits countries to only two entries unless they have more than two continental champions.
Additionally, three Brazilian teams — Flamengo, Palmeiras, and Fluminense — have qualified as winners of the Copa Libertadores since 2021. Argentina’s River Plate and Boca Juniors are also expected to qualify as top-ranked teams from South America.
