By Dan Cancian
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Arsenal must win the Champions League if they are to secure the last remaining place in next year’s expanded Club World Cup, with a European minnow in line to take the spot otherwise.
After their 2-2 draw at the Emirates last week, Mikel Arteta‘s men must beat Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday night to 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 are to qualify for the Club World Cup.
The revamped version of the tournament will feature 32 teams, with 12 representing UEFA and six from the CONMEBOL, its South American counterpart.
The AFC, CAF and CONCACAF will be represented by four clubs each, with the OFC and the host association awarded one slot each.
Arsenal must win the Champions League to qualify for next year’s Club World Cup
Arsenal face Bayern in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday
Harry Kane (right) scored as the Bundesliga giants secured a 2-2 draw at the Emirates
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The winners of each confederation’s top club competition between 2021 and 2024 have all qualified tournament, with the remaining teams to be determined by a club ranking over the four-year period.
In practical terms, it means 11 of UEFA’s 12 slots have already been filled.
Chelsea, Real Madrid and Manchester City have qualified by virtue of winning the Champions League over the past three seasons.
Meanwhile another eight clubs – Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, Porto, Benfica, Borussia Dortmund, Juventus and Atletico Madrid – have qualified based on UEFA’s four-year ranking.
The last remaining spot up for grabs is reserved for the winners of the Champions League this season, which is where the process gets complicated.
Of the six remaining teams left in the competition, Arsenal are the only club that does not meet UEFA’s four-year ranking criteria to qualify for the Club World Cup.
The Gunners’ only chance of taking part in the tournament, therefore, is winning the Champions League for the first time.
Should Arsenal fail to lift the trophy at Wembley next month, the remaining spot would instead go to Red Bull Salzburg.
Man City qualified for the Club World Cup after winning the Champions League last season
Chelsea will also take part 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 take part in the tournament.
Liverpool, RB Leipzig, Barcelona, Napoli, Sevilla and AC Milan are all ranked higher than Salzburg, but the Club World Cup has a limit of maximum two teams per league in place.
Both slots for the Premier League, Bundesliga, Serie A and LaLiga have already been filled.
The caveat, however, doesn’t apply to Champions League winners, meaning the Premier League could have three representatives should Arsenal triumph this season.
Salzburg have never won a European trophy, only going as far as losing the 1994 UEFA Cup final to Inter Milan when they were still known as Austria Salzburg.
Salzburg had to wait 61 years for their first league title in 1994 before adding two more over the next three years, but have become Austrian football’s dominant force since being taken over by Red Bull in 2006.
RB Salzburg have won the Austrian Bundesliga in 14 of the last 18 seasons, finishing as runner-ups on the other four occasions and are currently bidding to win their 11th consecutive title.
Their domestic dominance, however, has not translated onto the European stage.
After a decade of falling at the final hurdle in the qualifying rounds of the Champions League, RB Salzburg have made the group stages for the past four seasons.
However, they have only qualified for the Round of 16 once, losing 8-2 on aggregate against Bayern Munich in 2022.
Should Arsenal fail to win the Champions League, the remaining UEFA spot for the Club World Cup will go to RB Salzburg
RB Salzburg have won the last 10 Austrian Bundesliga titles in a row
This season, they came bottom of Group D with four points behind Real Sociedad, Inter Milan and Benfica.
They have enjoyed better luck in the Europa League, reaching the Round of 32 five times in the last six seasons and going as far as the semi-final in 2018, when they lost 3-2 to Olympique Marseille on aggregate.
Published by Associated Newspapers Ltd
Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group
