Chelsea Win Club World Cup… But Still Miss Out on 2029 Tournament as PSG Go Through Despite Defeat

Chelsea may have been crowned champions of the revamped Club World Cup, but they won’t be returning in 2029 – at least not yet. And to make things even more surprising, their final opponents Paris Saint-Germain, who lost 3-0, are already guaranteed a spot.

Enzo Maresca’s team pulled off a shock victory over PSG, the current Champions League holders. Cole Palmer continued his rise with two fantastic goals in the first half, followed by a classy chip from new signing Joao Pedro to make it 3-0 before half-time. Chelsea kept control throughout the game, with PSG’s Joao Neves even getting sent off for pulling Marc Cucurella’s hair in the second half.

The win not only gave Chelsea international bragging rights but also came with a massive $125 million prize. However, fans were left confused when it was revealed that Chelsea’s victory doesn’t actually secure them a place in the next Club World Cup in 2029.

Why aren’t Chelsea already qualified?

The next Club World Cup will include 32 teams from around the world, but spots are given out based on FIFA’s rules and rankings – not on winning the tournament itself.

Here’s how it works:

• UEFA (Europe) gets 12 spots
• CONMEBOL (South America) gets 6
• AFC, CAF, and CONCACAF (Asia, Africa, North America) each get 4
• OFC (Oceania) gets 1

The host country automatically gets 1 spot – this is why Inter Miami, Lionel Messi’s team, were involved this year.

So where does Chelsea fit in? Sadly, winning this year’s Club World Cup doesn’t count as a qualifying ticket for 2029. Instead, FIFA takes the last four Champions League winners and the rest of the spots are filled using the UEFA club rankings.

PSG are in. Chelsea are not.

Because PSG won the Champions League last season, they’ve already secured one of UEFA’s slots – even after losing to Chelsea in the final. Meanwhile, Chelsea sit 14th in UEFA’s current rankings, and only 12 teams from Europe can qualify.

That means Chelsea still need to do more to make the 2029 tournament — either by winning a future Champions League or improving their UEFA ranking enough to make the cut.

It’s a strange situation, win the Club World Cup but still miss out on the next one — while the losing team walks away with a golden ticket. Chelsea fans will be hoping the team can keep their form and secure their place the hard way.