Arsenal handed double blow as Bayern Munich defeat confirms 2025 Club World Cup fate

Arsenal's Champions League journey came to an abrupt end on Wednesday evening following defeat to Bayern Munich, but the result has also ruled them out of the 2025 Club World Cup.

Joshua Kimmich's decisive header in the 63rd minute was enough to secure the Bundesliga giants a spot in the semi-final of Europe's top competition.

Despite their best efforts, the Gunners couldn't find a way past Manuel Neuer, ending their European dreams at the Allianz Arena just days after their Premier League title hopes were dented by a loss to Aston Villa.

Mikel Arteta and his squad had arrived in Germany on equal footing after a thrilling 2-2 draw at the Emirates just over a week prior. The Arsenal manager had urged his team to rewrite their European history.

Unfortunately for the north London side, their defeat confirmed the final European team to qualify for next year's Club World Cup. Arsenal will now join the likes of Barcelona, Manchester United, Liverpool and AC Milan in missing out.

The expanded format of the competition, set to be played across the United States in June and July 2025, reserves 12 spots for European teams. A total of 32 teams from six confederations will participate in the inaugural event, reports the Mirror.

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The Champions League victors from 2021, 2022 and 2023 have secured their spots in the competition, with Chelsea, Real Madrid and Manchester City being among the first teams to be confirmed. Recent performances in the Champions League, as well as this season, have seen Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Inter Milan, Porto, Benfica, Borussia Dortmund and Juventus qualify, while Atletico Madrid has secured their place due to Barcelona's exit from this year's competition.

Arsenal would have needed to win the competition to secure a guaranteed spot in the US. The Gunners' failure to do so has resulted in FC Salzburg being rewarded for their performances.

The Austrian side may be a surprise inclusion, but FIFA only allows each nation two entries. Only if a country has multiple continental champions can this limitation be overlooked.

This rule means that Salzburg qualifies despite being ranked below Liverpool, Barcelona and AC Milan.

In other news, Brazil's success in the Copa Libertadores has resulted in Flamengo, Palmeiras and Fluminense all qualifying via the tournament, with six teams coming from South America. CONCACAF will send Seattle Sounders, Club Leon and Monterrey.

Asia will be represented by Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal and Japan's Urawa Red Diamonds. Africa will see Al Ahly and Wydad join from Egypt and Morocco respectively, while New Zealand's Auckland City will represent Oceania.

Nine more teams will qualify for the tournament.