While we all watch the Champions League , a little foolishly, the wise man watches the Club World Cup . A very rich game is being played in European football, with a parallel ranking with uncertain parameters and a final prize half-hidden, like a treasure on an island far away in time and yet very close.

In 2025, the United States will host the new FIFA safe tournament, a month or so of challenges between the best (or most famous) teams on the planet fighting to share a prize pool of 2 billion euros. The Champions League, in this case, is worth by reduction as European qualification for the World Cup, Infantino's creation.

The access score is based solely on the results obtained in the last four years in the Champions League (from the 20-21 to the 23-24 edition). Provided that UEFA formalizes the criteria, which at the moment should be the following: for each victory in the Champions League, 2 points; for each draw 1 point; qualification to the round of 4, 1 points; qualification to the quarter-finals/semi-finals/finals XNUMX point.

The doubt remains – as heavy as the classic elephant in the room – that UEFA reserves a regulatory last-ditch effort to save some big team from exclusion in extremis (for example, Barcelona is currently at great risk). The Italian case is exemplary: Serie A has two places reserved.

The first place has effectively already been assigned to Inter , who have 61 points and are unreachable. In second place is Juventus , who have 47 but are not playing in Europe this year due to suspension and therefore cannot accumulate any more points.

In third place is Milan , on 36 points (it was at 35). In fourth place is Napoli , who with the victory over Braga rose to 31.

In short, Milan and Napoli are playing it out, with Juve forced to jinx their competitors to stay glued to the second available place. Milan has been drawn in the worst possible group: PSG, Dortmund and Newcastle.

The draw with the English has already cost them a point, earned by Napoli thanks to an own goal by Braga in the 90th minute. The construction of Napoli's hypothetical comeback is purely theoretical.

For example, the website Il Napolista calculated that if Napoli were to qualify from the group with 4 wins, 1 draw, and 1 defeat, they would score another 7 points, to which should be added the 4 for qualifying for the round of 16. De Laurentiis' club would rise to 42 points.

At 5 points from Juve and with Milan probably sucked in by the results against the very strong opponents of the group. With the round of 5 Napoli could get another XNUMX points, and that point would be enough with a draw in the quarterfinals to "win" the first real trophy of the season: access to the FIFA chest.

The Champions League is worth double this year.