Will Inter Miami qualify for Club World Cup? Will Hard Rock Stadium host? What we know

Despite the return of Lionel Messi from a long injury layoff, Inter Miami had a frustrating week, blowing leads and settling for a pair of ties on the road against teams they were expected to beat.

But Miami had built up enough of a cushion to remain comfortably atop the MLS standings heading into a home game Saturday against Charlotte FC, on pace to win the Supporters’ Shield with four games remaining in the regular season.

Miami has 64 points and with eight more points would get to 72, which would be unreachable by any other team. If Inter Miami wins the shield, it would get home-field advantage throughout the MLS playoffs and could earn a spot in the 2025 Club World Cup, which is being held in the United States from June 15 to July 13.

The expanded Club World Cup will include 32 teams. Twelve will be European clubs, six South American, four from CONCACAF (North and Central America and the Caribbean), four from Africa, four from Asia, one from Oceania, and the host country (USA) gets the final spot.

It has not been announced yet how the host spot will be determined, but assuming it is the 2024 Supporters Shield winner or MLS Cup winner, Miami has an excellent chance. The other open spot will go to the winner of the 2024 Copa Libertadores, the South American club championship.

Among the 30 club teams that have already qualified are Real Madrid, Manchester City, Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, River Plate, Boca Juniors, Flamengo, Palmeiras, Seattle Sounders, Monterrey, Pachuca, Al Hilal, and Al Ain.

FIFA is expected to announce the venues by the end of September. Gianni Infantino, President of FIFA, held a conference call with more than 50 global broadcasters from the federation’s Coral Gables office last week and said the venues would be known “later this month.” He also said the draw would be held in December.

Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, which hosted the Copa America final and will host seven games during the 2026 World Cup, is among the leading candidates to host Club World Cup matches. The Miami Dolphins’ home stadium made international headlines in July after fans stormed the gates before the Copa America final between Argentina and Colombia. Stadium officials conducted a thorough investigation and vowed to make necessary changes for future tournaments.

The Guardian reported that Atlanta, Orlando, Miami, Pasadena, Philadelphia, Seattle, MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, are expected to be named as tournament venues. Others could be added. Negotiations are ongoing.

There were rumors that the tournament might have to be postponed to allow FIFA more time to secure venues, sponsorships and broadcast deals, but indications are that the event will go on as scheduled.

FIFA is expected to include a mix of large NFL stadiums and smaller MLS venues to accommodate high-profile matchups while also providing lively atmospheres for the lesser-known clubs that would not draw huge crowds.

The Rose Bowl in Pasadena, which was not included among the 2026 World Cup venues, has a strong soccer history and would make sense as a venue for the Club World Cup. It hosted the 1984 Olympic Games gold medal match, the Men’s World Cup Final in 1994 and Women’s World Cup Final in 1999.

The tournament will have a group stage of eight groups with four teams per group. The top two advance to the Round of 16 with a knockout stage through the elimination rounds until the final. There will be no third-place game.

Other teams that have qualified are Al Ahly (Egypt), Wydad (Morocco), ES Tunis (Tunisia), Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa), Urawa Red Diamonds (Japan), Ulsan HD FC (South Korea), Porto (Portugal), Benfica (Portugal), Borussia Dortmund (Germany), Juventus (Italy), Atletico Madrid (Spain), FC Salzburg (Austria), Club Leon (Mexico), Auckland City (New Zealand), Fluminense (Brazil).

Ticket information will be announced at a later date. Fans can register for ticket information at https://www.fifa.com/en/tickets

Redondo, Allen suspended

Inter Miami will be without midfielder Fede Redondo and defender Noah Allen for the game Saturday against Charlotte as they serve suspensions for yellow card accumulation… Matias Rojas (ankle) was expected to return to training and could be available for the weekend… Inter Miami is 10 points from breaking the record for points in a single MLS season (73) set by the New England Revolution in 2021.