Liverpool are strongly tipped to win the Premier League and Champions League but will not feature in the draw for Real Madrid and Manchester City on Thursday.
The draw for the 'new and improved' 2025 FIFA Club World Cup will take place on Thursday (December 5), with 32 teams taking part in the opening event in the United States between June 15 and July 13 next year. But while Real Madrid, Manchester City and Bayern Munich will be among the expected participants, Premier League leaders Liverpool, like Barcelona, will not be involved.
The Reds have made a storming start to the season under Arne Slot, allaying fears that he would find the highly-acclaimed Jurgen Klopp difficult to follow. Liverpool have built a significant lead at the top of the Premier League and are also considered one of the favorites to win this season's Champions League, although they will miss the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup anyway.
How did teams qualify for the 2025 Club World Cup?
Qualification for the tournament varies by confederation (UEFA, CONMEBOL, CONCACAF, CAF, AFC, OFC), although clubs qualified either by winning their confederation's top club competition or by virtue of their ranking within their confederation over the previous four-year period.
Europe provides 12 of the 32 participants, four of which are the winners of the four most recent Champions Leagues (between 2020/21 and 2023/24), while the remaining eight theoretically come from the UEFA club rankings. However, as Real Madrid won the Champions League twice during that time, a ninth European club qualified based on their rankings.
Also important to note is that no more than two clubs from the same country are allowed, unless more than two clubs from that country have won the Champions League in the last four years (which has not happened).
Liverpool's absence from the Club World Cup explained
The problem for Liverpool is that two (other) English clubs have won the Champions League, which means there is no room for more Premier League participants.
The Anfield club won the UCL in 2019/20, a season too early to qualify, and were beaten by the finalists in 2021/22. Chelsea and Manchester City, on the other hand, were European champions in 2020/21 and 2022/23 respectively and will therefore participate in the tournament in the US.
The fact that Liverpool's club ranking is higher than that of a number of qualified clubs from other countries (Porto, Atlético Madrid, RB Leipzig, Benfica, Juventus, RB Salzburg) is irrelevant due to the two clubs per country rule, and the fact that they have not won any of the last four Champions Leagues.
Get your game on! Whether you like NFL touchdowns, NBA buzzer-beaters, world-class football goals or MLB home runs, our app has it all.
Comments