Why aren't Liverpool, Barcelona and Napoli in Club World Cup even though they won their leagues this season?

The FIFA Club World Cup is just around the corner. Kicking off on Saturday as Inter Miami and Al Ahy meet in Miami, the tournament will take place in the United States to determine who the best club team is in the world is. Featuring the beat teams of each continent, it's a truly global tournament that, with it's expansion to 32 teams, will ensure that even if a side didn't win the league this year, if they recently won the Champions League, they're still included in the affair.

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Liverpool and Barcelona miss out

But that also means that two league winners are left out. La Liga winners Barcelona and Premier League winners Liverpool won't be taking part in the tournament, and Serie A winners Napoli also won't be in the Club World Cup after their unexpected Scudetto triumph. On one hand, they may appreciate having a summer away from the demands of soccer, on the other hand this it a tournament with one billion dollars of prize money that they won't be able to compete for.

The previous four (technically three) winners of the UEFA Champions League qualified directly for this tournament and they are Chelsea, Real Madrid and Manchester City. There are only three continental champion slots for UEFA due to Real Madrid winning the Champions League in 2021-22 and 2023-24. There was then the UEFA ranking pathway, which brought in the highest ranked teams for each confederation based on their total performance. UEFA was given nine spots via the ranking pathways, which went to Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Inter Milan, Porto, Benfica, Borussia Dortmund, Juventus, Atletico Madrid and RB Salzburg.

If these rankings were done now after the season, Juventus and Benfica would be out, with Liverpool and RB Leipzig being the teams to replace them after strong seasons have seen them improve their UEFA Club rankings. Barcelona currently sit 12th in those rankings one point behind RB Leipzig, which would make things close. As things stand, they'd likely qualify for the next edition of this tournament, but they'd certainly prefer leaving out the guesswork by qualifying via winning the Champions League.

Did you know that you can watch the entire 2025 FIFA Club World Cup live on DAZN (for free)?

Club World Cup groups

Group A: Palmeiras (BRA), Porto (PRT), Al Ahly (EGY), Inter Miami (USA)Group B: Paris Saint-Germain (FRA), Atletico Madrid (ESP), Botafogo (BRA), Seattle Sounders (USA)Group C: Bayern Munich (DEU), Auckland City (NZL), Boca Juniors (ARG), Benfica (PRT)Group D: Flamengo (BRA), Esperance de Tunis (TUN), Chelsea (GBR), Los Angeles FC (USA)Group E: River Plate (ARG), Urawa Red Diamonds (JPN), Monterrey (MEX), Inter (ITA)Group F: Fluminense (BRA), Borussia Dortmund (DEU), Ulsan HD (KOR), Mamelodi Sundowns (ZAF)Group G: Manchester City (GBR), Wydad AC (MAR), Al Ain (UAE), Juventus (ITA)Group H: Real Madrid (ESP), Al-Hilal (KSA), Pachuca (MEX), Red Bull Salzburg (AUT)

Club World Cup scheduleGroup stage

All times ET, matches on DAZN (try for free)

Saturday, June 14

• Al Ahly vs. Inter Miami, 8 p.m., Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens

Sunday, June 15

• Bayern Munich vs. Auckland City, 12 p.m., TQL Stadium, Cincinnati
• PSG vs. Atletico Madrid, 3 p.m., Rose Bowl, Pasadena
• Palmeiras vs. Porto, 6 p.m., MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford
• Botafogo vs. Seattle Sounders, 10 p.m., Lumen Field, Seattle

Monday, June 16

• Chelsea vs. LAFC, 3 p.m., Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
• Boca Juniors vs. Benfica, 6 p.m., Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens
• Flamengo vs. Esperance de Tunis, 9 p.m., Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia

Tuesday, June 17

• Fluminense vs. Borussia Dortmund, 12 p.m., MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford
• River Plate vs. Urawa Red Diamonds, 3 p.m., Lumen Field, Seattle
• Ulsan HD vs. Mamelodi Sundowns, 6 p.m., Inter&Co Stadium, Orlando
• Monterrey vs. Inter, 9 p.m., Rose Bowl, Pasadena

Wednesday, June 18

• Manchester City vs. Wydad AC, 12 p.m., Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
• Real Madrid vs. Al Hilal, 3 p.m., Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens
• Pachuca vs. Salzburg, 6 p.m., TQL Stadium, Cincinnati
• Al Ain vs. Juventus, 9 p.m., Audi Field, Washington, D.C.

Thursday, June 19

• Palmeiras vs. Al Ahly, 12 p.m., MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford
• Inter Miami vs. Porto, 3 p.m., Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
• Seattle Sounders vs. Atletico Madrid, 6 p.m., Lumen Field, Seattle
• PSG vs. Botafogo, 9 p.m., Rose Bowl, Pasadena

Friday, June 20

• Benfica vs. Auckland City, 12 p.m., Inter&Co Stadium, Orlando
• Flamengo vs. Chelsea, 2 p.m., Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
• LAFC vs. Esperance de Tunis, 6 p.m., GEODIS Park, Nashville
• Bayern Munich vs. Boca Juniors, 9 p.m., Hard Rock Stadium, Miami

Saturday, June 21

• Mamelodi Sundowns vs. Borussia Dortmund, 12 p.m., TQL Stadium, Cincinnati
• Inter vs. Urawa Red Diamonds, 3 p.m., Lumen Field, Seattle
• Fluminense vs. Ulsan HD, 6 p.m., MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford
• River Plate vs. Monterrey, 9 p.m., Rose Bowl, Pasadena

Sunday, June 22

• Juventus vs. Wydad AC, 12 p.m., Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
• Real Madrid vs. Pachuca, 3 p.m., Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte
• Salzburg vs. Al Hilal, 6 p.m., Audi Field, Washington, D.C.
• Manchester City vs. Al Ain, 9 p.m., Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta

Monday, June 23

• Seattle Sounders vs. PSG, 3 p.m., Lumen Field, Seattle
• Atletico Madrid vs. Botafogo, 3 p.m., Rose Bowl, Pasadena
• Inter Miami vs. Palmeiras, 9 p.m., Hard Rock Stadium, Miami
• Porto vs. Al Ahly, 9 p.m., MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford

Tuesday, June 24

• Auckland City vs. Boca Juniors, 3 p.m., GEODIS Park, Nashville
• Benfica vs. Bayern Munich, 3 p.m., Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte
• LAFC vs. Flamengo, 9 p.m., Camping World Stadium, Orlando
• Esperance de Tunis vs. Chelsea, 9 p.m., Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia

Wednesday, June 25

• Borussia Dortmund vs. Ulsan HD, 3 p.m., TQL Stadium, Cincinnati
• Mamelodi Sundowns vs. Fluminense, 3 p.m., Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens
• Inter vs. River Plate, 9 p.m., Lumen Field, Seattle
• Urawa Red Diamonds vs. Monterrey, 9 p.m., Rose Bowl, Pasadena

Thursday, June 26

• Juventus vs. Manchester City, 3 p.m., Camping World Stadium, Orlando
• Wydad AC vs. Al Ain, 3 p.m., Audi Field, Washington, D.C.
• Al Hilal vs. Pachuca, 9 p.m., GEODIS Park, Nashville
• Salzburg vs. Real Madrid, 9 p.m., Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia

Knockout stage

Saturday, June 28 (Round of 16)1A vs. 2B, 12 p.m., Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia1C vs. 2D, 4 p.m., Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte

Sunday, June 29 (Round of 16)1B vs. 2A, 12 p.m., Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta1D vs. 2C, 4 p.m., Hard Rock Stadium, Miami

Monday, June 30 (Round of 16)1E vs. 2F, 3 p.m., Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte1G vs. 2H, 9 p.m., Camping World Stadium, Orlando

Tuesday, July 1 (Round of 16)1H vs. 2G, 3 p.m., Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens1F vs. 2E, 9 p.m., Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta

Friday, July 4 (Quarterfinals)TBD vs. TBD, 3 p.m., Camping World Stadium, OrlandoTBD vs. TBD, 9 p.m., Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia

Saturday, July 5 (Quarterfinals)TBD vs. TBD, 12 p.m., Mercedes-Benz Stadium, AtlantaTBD vs. TBD, 4 p.m., MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford

Tuesday, July 8 (Semifinal)TBD vs. TBD, 3 p.m., MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford

Wednesday, July 9 (Semifinal)TBD vs. TBD, 3 p.m., MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford

Sunday, July 13 (Final)TBD vs. TBD, 3 p.m., MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford

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