Napoli have their fate in their own hands as they’ll be looking to snatch a place in the extended Club World Cup away from Juventus.
The United States will host the first edition of the newly introduced format in the summer of 2025.
The tournament will feature 32 clubs, including two Serie A representatives. The identity of the participants will be determined based on the clubs’ results in the last four editions of the UEFA Champions League.
Inter have already booked their place in the tournament, while Milan are now out of the running after failing the reach the UCL knockout stages this season.
As things stand at the moment, Juventus are in line to accompany Inter to the international tournament. The Bianconeri currently sit in second place with 47 coefficient points.
But as we all know, Max Allegri’s men aren’t taking part in the Champions League this term as a result of last season’s legal troubles.
Therefore, Juventus won’t be able to improve their tally, leaving the door open for Napoli to overtake them.
As IlBianonero explains, the Partenopei need six extra points to pip the Turin-based giants in the coefficient standings.
At this stage of the competition, each win would yield two points, while a draw would hand them a single point.
Moreover, progressing to another round would also bear an extra point.
Therefore, Napoli will have to eliminate Barcelona from the Round of 16 and progress to the Champions League quarterfinals to maintain their hopes of usurping Juventus.
Otherwise, the Bianconeri will secure their spot in the Club World Cup, unless Lazio go all the way to the UCL final while winning every fixture, which is an extremely unlikely scenario.
