Inter are almost certain to qualify for the new FIFA Club World Cup format, which will take effect from 2025, thanks to their journey to the Champions League final in 2022-23, but only one other team from Serie A will be able to join them.
FIFA’s new 32-team tournament will see clubs from all corners of the globe face off every four years in a format similar to both the Champions League and World Cup.
European sides have 12 designated slots in the bracket, whilst South America has six, North and Central America, Africa and Asia have four apiece, Oceania has one and one position will be reserved for a team from the host nation.
Of the 12 slots reserved for UEFA-affiliated sides, four positions will be taken up by the four previous Champions League winners in each tournament cycle, meaning that Chelsea, Real Madrid and Manchester City have already confirmed their place. They will be joined by the winner of the 2023-24 Champions League.
The next eight slots will be determined by UEFA’s four-year ranking. Inter, with 60 points in UEFA’s system, along with Paris Saint-Germain on 66 and Bayern Munich on 84 are the teams currently with the highest chance of qualifying.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Inter would probably guarantee their place at the Club World Cup if they were to make the knock-out rounds of next year’s Champions League.
However, each nation is only allowed to send two teams to the Club World Cup, unless the Champions League is won by three different teams from the same nation within four years. For instance, if another Premier League side were to win next year’s Champions League, England would have three representatives in the tournament, but otherwise, nations are limited to just two teams.
That means that if Inter were to qualify for the inaugural edition of the revamped Club World Cup, only one other team from Serie A would be able to join them.
Juventus are currently the Italian side with the second-best UEFA ranking with 47 points, however, that figure will not increase given that the system is only decided on results in the Champions League and not the Europa or Conference League.
Milan are next on the list with 35 points, and Napoli follow shortly after with 29, but both of those tallies could increase with a strong run in next year’s Champions League.