The Club World Cup spot makes the loss in Miami less painful
Lionel Messi’s team was shocked by Atlanta United in the MLS playoffs, which shows that FIFA was right to give Inter Miami an entry into the Club World Cup.
Miami won the Eastern Conference by a huge margin at the end of the season, but on Saturday, they were shocked 3-2 at home by Atlanta, who ended 34 points behind Miami in ninth place and just made it into the playoffs. This was the third and final game, and both teams had already claimed a 2-1 win.
As a big surprise, Bartosz Slisz scored the game-winning goal in the 76th minute, after Messi had scored for Miami.
However, the league’s most famous team will still have a spot in next year’s expanded 32-team Club World Cup. FIFA gave them the second-to-last spot last month because they won the “Supporters’ Shield” for coming first in the MLS standings at the end of the regular season.
They will also host the first game of a competition that will take place all over the United States from June 15 to July 13.
When that happened, FIFA President Gianni Infantino told them, “You have shown that in the United States, you are consistently the best club on the field of play.”
“Therefore, I am proud to announce that as one of the best clubs in the world, you are deserved participants in the new FIFA Club World Cup as the host club representing the United States.”
These words didn’t really mean anything, and after Miami’s shocking loss in the first round of the playoffs, they showed how unclear the rules were for getting into the tourney.
Soccer fans all over the world wanted Messi to play in FIFA’s new event, but the organization hasn’t been able to secure a TV deal yet.
He joined Miami in the middle of last season and helped them win a small trophy but not make the playoffs. They finished the regular season with a record number of points this year, even though he missed a lot of games because of injuries.
However, even though they lost in the first round of knockouts, Miami will be at the Club World Cup with the Seattle Sounders, who won the CONCACAF Champions League in 2022.
The final spot will go to the winner of the CONMEBOL Libertadores final in Buenos Aires on November 30.
