Inzaghi attacks FIFA for World Cup: "Barça is missing here"

The absence of FC Barcelona from the FIFA Club World Cup being held in the United States has begun to be felt more than expected, both by fans and by the other teams participating in the tournament.

The World Cup's format not only left out the current winner of LaLiga EA Sports, but it also did so with Liverpool, champion of the Premier League, and Napoli, champion of the Serie A.

However, one person who has not been at all pleased with the Catalan side's non-participation is Simone Inzaghi, current head coach of Al-Hilal and a finalist in the last UEFA Champions League with Inter Milan, which eliminated Barça in the competition's semifinals.

For Inzaghi, the intercontinental tournament is being "fantastic," but one special team is missing, at least that's what he implied in his statements before the match of his new team, the Saudi Al Hilal, against Red Bull Salzburg on Matchday 2 of Group H.

"The Club World Cup has been fantastic so far. All the elite clubs are here. We're just missing Barcelona," the Italian coach pointed out.

An interesting competition, but with much to improve

Initially, the new Club World Cup generated high expectations. For the first time, the tournament brought together teams from all confederations, but the spectacle is leaving much to be desired, both on and off the pitch. Among the most notable negative aspects, we can mention:

1. Lack of appeal in the matchups: so far, only a few matches have represented a great encounter in the group stage. Paris Saint-Germain vs Atlético de Madrid, Bayern Munich vs Boca Juniors, Flamengo vs Chelsea, or Botafogo vs PSG are just some of the major clashes among all those played.
2. Uneven level: another point to highlight is that one of the teams qualified for the tournament, such as the semi-professional side Auckland City from New Zealand, cannot compete with most of its rivals. In their first match, they lost 10-0 against Bayern Munich, while in the second, they suffered a 6-0 defeat against Benfica.
3. Poor performances: something that also works against this competition is the poor performance of some clubs after a long season. Such is the case with Real Madrid or Manchester City, who did not have an outstanding season, and their players' ability has been diminished.
4. Ticket costs: from the distances fans must travel to see the best teams to the costs of the tickets, these have been a subject of criticism. In fact, according to reports, FIFA had to lower the price of tickets for some matches to prevent the stadiums from being empty.

Why didn't Barça qualify for the Club World Cup?

It is important to note that FIFA only grants two spots per country. Regarding Spain, Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid qualified for having a better coefficient than Barcelona, as qualification takes into account performance during the 2021-2024 period in continental competitions (in this case, the UEFA Champions League).

Barça, during that time, was eliminated in the group stage of the 2021/22 and 2022/23 Champions League, while in 2023/24, they reached the quarterfinals, but it wasn't enough (they needed to advance at least to the 'semis' and hope for an early elimination of Aleti).

In this context, Real Madrid qualified by winning the Champions League twice in the last five years, and Atlético by having a better coefficient score, according to UEFA.

Therefore, for the next edition (2029), Barça is obligated to win the Champions League in one of its next two editions to secure its qualification, unless FIFA modifies the qualification system.

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2029 Club World Cup: PSG is the 2nd qualified, what about Barça?

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