He InterMiami will not be champion of MLS and yet he will be the representative of the United States to Club World Cup, as host. The invitation ad hoc of Gianni Infantino, president of the FIFA, for the world championship which will begin this summer was very controversial at the time, as it was seen as a measure aimed at making Leo Messi was yes or yes in it. Now, football has proven those who criticized the measure right, as the Florida team hit it at the first opportunity in the playoffs, falling in the round of 16.
Infantino He used a flimsy argument at the time to get Inter Miami into the World Cup. The president of the highest football authority justified the invitation to David Beckham’s club by the fact that it had been the best team in the regular season of the championship. MLS. Something that would work for any league in the world in which the champion is the first ranked, but not for an MLS which has a format in the purest NBA style, with two conferences and a few playoffs to decide who will win the title.
In the previous Club World Cups, Under the old format in which only the champions from each continent participated and which took place every year – it has now been replaced by the new version of the Intercontinental Cup – the league champion of the host country was always present. Something that will not happen during the next world championship to be held in USA in the summer of 2025. He will be at Inter Miami, but not MLS champion.
Precisely, FIFA’s decision to hide behind the fact that the InterMiami had been the best regular season team in the MLS He sought to ensure Messi’s presence at the World Cup in case something happened, which ultimately did. The most logical thing would have been to announce that the champion of the North American league would be the representative at next summer’s event, but with that there was a risk of excluding the star team from the United States.
At the World Cup without sporting merit
Those of Tata Martino They added their first big setback by being kicked out of the title fight at the first opportunity. It did them no good to be champions of this regular phase, from ninth place, which entered the playoffs after overcoming a previous playoff –play– against the eighths, he eliminated them in the round of 16. Atlanta United won the series – best of three games, like in basketball – after winning 2-3 in the last game, also played in Miami.
SO, Herons They will not be in the fight for the title among the eight best teams in the league. Something that represents the invitation to Infantino, since it was not based on the criteria that have been used in similar cases, when inviting the host league champion. With Inter Miami, there was no need to wait for the champion to be chosen. The manager has once again done Messi a favor, taking advantage as well as an attraction so that his new competition has additional appeal and can generate more than expected.
