AC Milan are not just fighting to remain in the Champions League when they face Newcastle United tomorrow night but also for a spot in the new FIFA Club World Cup.
We recently wrote about the new format of the Club World Cup which will start in 2025 with the first edition in the USA, and Calciomercato.com have provided an update on how things look for Italian clubs, given Serie A will get two spots and one of them has been taken by Inter.
The tournament provides sizeable revenues for the participating clubs which start from a minimum of around €50m but will of course involve extra games in the June/July of that year, when the players would normally be taking a break.
The Nerazzurri are the first Italian team to qualify for the 2025 Club World Cup, but who will follow them? To date, Juventus have the spot with their 47 ranking points in the period that counts, but Milan and Napoli are close behind at 39 and 34 points respectively.
How does the points calculation work and what do Milan and Napoli need to overtake Juve? The points in the Champions League are thus assigned by UEFA (and it should be remembered that FIFA could vary this calculation, albeit slightly):
➤ 2 points for every win from the group stage onwards
➤ 1 point for each draw from the group stage onwards
➤ 4 bonus points for participation in the group stage (already counted)
➤ 4 bonus points for participation in the round of 16
➤ 1 bonus point for each round reached by a club from the round of 16 onwards
If Milan and Napoli qualified for the round of 16, winning against Newcastle and Braga to reach the last 16 (a victory alone isn’t enough for the Rossoneri as they need help from Dortmund) would mean they obtain six extra points which would take them to 45 and 40 points respectively, still behind the Bianconeri.
In the round of 16, however, a victory would be enough for Milan to catch up with Juve even in the event of elimination, while Napoli would instead need to progress to the next round, and possibly with two victories to threaten the Bianconeri.
So Juve & Inter it is then. FFS.
Don’t the points from UCL in 2024/25 season count towards this? Since the tournament is held duroing summer 2025.