Integrity, sporting and otherwise, out the window, in an event sanctioned by FIFA?!? IMPOSSIBLE!!!! FIFA are epitome of integrity, sporting or otherwise!
Right and I posted a slightly inaccurate but roughly reflective list of comparitive payrolls. If any CONCACAF team reaches the knockout stage it'll be a fluke, even if the UEFA teams aren't that interested.
I didn't ask that. Upsets happen in every sport and if it was that one in a thousand chance it happened, or whatever odds you give it, what would the reaction be?
The reaction would be: - it's a fluke and/or Dortmund didn't play their best XI and/or BVB were tired after a long season and/or they weren't motivated and/or Seattle had home advantage on artificial turf. And of course if a Mexican team pulls off a fluke and the MLS teams don't we'll be told it confirms Liga MX is superior and Leagues Cup is a joke.
Accept in Mexico the fans care a little more now and want some kind of change to the tournament and suddenly it's more legit. I don't think anyone cared about CCL until we kept getting spanked. That carried over for MLS in Leagues Cup because they were all MLS teams excuses. If that happens with the CWC I would imagine FIFA would be quite happy. Now I get it probably won't be a CONCACAF team but there are more teams outside of Europe in this tournament and more chances of the fluke happening. The idea of FIFA is to grow revenue and take away some of the power that the Europeans have a stranglehold on.
There will be upsets in a 32 team competition. As for FIFA taking money away from Europe, why would UEFA let that happen? Any excess revenue FIFA make will be split 211 ways so the net effect per fed will be minor.
For all the talk of "how much do European teams care about the CWC", the stats tell a crushing tale. Since the CWC was reorganized in its current format in 2005, European clubs played 38 "do or die" matches against the rest of the world. They left the pitch defeated 3 times, and it hasn't happened in over a decade. Not a single one of those defeats was against a team from outside South America and where the Libertadores winners did prevail (2005, 2006, 2012) the "recipe for success" was the same every time. Get the first goal and hang on for dear life. Of course the competition field is expanded in 2025 and there are group stage matches without elimination character. Salzburg should be within reach for some, even outside South America, and the Brazilian clubs might match up well with Benfica and Porto. To me these are the most interesting stories, not the UCL repeat of the later rounds. As for Concacaf, I pick Rayados as the best bet. Most consistent side over the past few years and they know the CWC well. For example, they gave Liverpool a good match in 2019: As for the other Mexican clubs. The Liga MX Apertura just finished its regular season and Leon and Pachuca did not make the Liguilla. Not even the play-in games.
But the circumstances in those games were completely different. A couple of matches here and there mid-season when European based players are at peak fitness. Physiologically players training is designed to peak at certain times of the year. Finishing the season flat out, having a brief rest then peaking again is hard physically and mentally. This is not the Euros, the Copa or the World Cup, not yet anyway. Brazilian teams won the first 3 CWCs, probably because they weren't a big deal to the European clubs at the time.
That is true. We'll have to see how the change in timing plays out. I have been watching the competition since the 90's. Even attended five editions in person. The non-English teams always tried to win. This includes Real Madrid in 2000 and Barcelona in 2006. The CWC for some reason always struggled in the insular UK sports culture, where media and fans alike went out of their way to disparage the competition. This has changed somewhat in recent years, with the CWC badge - for example - becoming a talking point. I can't help but feel that some of it was related to the lack of English success. Before Liverpool turned things around for England as recently as 2019, the Premier League had by far the weakest European record in the CWC participation/winner ratio. That is, excluding European associations with one single appearance (Serbia, Scotland, Greece, Sweden and Romania). England's record until 2019 breaks down as follows: 1968: Manchester United loses to Estudiantes (ARG) over two legs 1980: Nottingham – Nacional (URU) 0:1 1981: Liverpool – Flamengo (BRA) 0:3 1982: Aston Villa – Peñarol (URU) 0:2 1984: Liverpool – Independiente (ARG) 0:1 1999: Manchester United – Palmeiras (BRA) 1:0 2000: Manchester United eliminated in group stage 2005: Liverpool – Sao Paulo (BRA) 0:1 2008: Manchester United – LDU Quito (ECU) 1:0 2012: Chelsea – Corinthians (BRA) 0:1 In short, 2 out of 10. Or 20%. Spain, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, and Portugal all had superior performances. It doesn't matter how one regards the competition. That record was flat out poor.
MLS > Bundesliga. That's gotta be the answer, no? Cause if or when any team around the world beats an MLS team they always claim MLS < the league of that team. So to be fair that has to be the answer.
Winner qualifies for the Leagues Cup? Actual statements from FIFA and MLS on Miami's "qualification": https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...anni-infantino-fifa-tournament-expansion-2025
Alajuelense Requests FIFA Spot in 2025 Club World Cup: https://www.footboom1.com/en/news/f...nse-requests-fifa-spot-in-2025-club-world-cup
Huh? They claim they should be in because two Mexican teams have the same owner? That makes about zero sense.
1. FIFA published a regulation saying two teams with the same owner can't compete. (Though the legitimacy of this regulation is questionable since is was published after the qualified teams were already confirmed.) 2. There is a two team limit per country that can be superseded if a country has more than two confederation champions in the 4-year cycle. Mexico has three teams because it has three CONCACAF champions. 3. If a Mexican team were to be disqualified, open slots are filled using rankings based on CCL/CCC results during the 4-year cycle. 4. Since Mexico and the USA each have at least two teams already, the open slot would go to the highest ranked team not from those countries, which is apparently LDA.
Which makes their separate ranking for FIFA events kind of a joke, it would almost be Violette from Haiti who I think most people agree have no business being near a club world cup; they just need to go off their normal club rankings, at least that has somewhat more merit taking into account all games that are being played.