• FABIÁN TORRES
• ADAPTED BY SAM

Rayados de Monterrey‘s resounding 3-1 win over Inter Miami at the BBVA stadium in the second leg of the Concachampions quarter-finals leaves Lionel Messi‘s team with little chance of going to the 2025 Club World Cup to be played in the United States.

With the chance of going to the tournament via the remaining place left by the CONCACAF Champions Tournament out of the question, Inter Miami now depend on Columbus Crew winning the tournament.

The 21 teams that have qualified for the 2025 Club World Cup

The reason for this is that, if the Ohio team wins this year’s edition, two MLS teams would qualify for the 2025 event, where Seattle Sounders have already secured their place as one of the last three CONCACAF Champions.

As the United States has an extra place in the competition as host nation, that spot would go to the winner of the current season’s MLS, leaving Inter Miami with a decent chance of qualifying.

The options

The first option would be to win the current league. The second would be to reach the final against Seattle Sounders or Columbus Crew, if the latter wins the current Concacaf tournament, which would secure their place even if they lose. Thirdly, that the final is played between the Sounders and the Crew (provided they win the Concachampios) and that Inter Miami reaches the semi-finals. And finally, if MLS

What would happen if the CONCACAF Champions League was won by Monterrey?

With Los Rayados already qualified for the 2025 Club World Cup as one of the last three champions, along with Leon and Seattle Sounders, the option of the Concacaf FIFA ranking would come into play and the place would go to Philadelphia Union. If this team achieves that place, it would supplant the Columbus Crew in the three points explained above.

Neymar and Guillermo Ochoa, key players in Hugo Sanchez’s MLS project

A new team is set to land in San Diego

• ÓSCAR JIMÉNEZ
• ADAPTED BY SAM

A few days ago it was announced that San Diego F.C. will soon land in Major League Soccer.

The team, an expansion franchise, would like to have Mexican Hugo Sánchez as technical director, but also goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa as its first captain.

It is worth noting that Hugo Sanchez has not managed a football team since the 2012 season and “Memo” Ochoa will not be with Salernitana in Italy next season. As a result, talk of a possible deal with San Diego FC, which will play its first season in MLS in 2025, has begun.

But Neymar is also on San Diego FC’s radar, according to POSTA Deportes. The Brazilian is undergoing rehabilitation after suffering a cruciate ligament tear last October during a World Cup 2026 qualifier between Uruguay and Brazil and is under contract with Al-Hilal until June 30, 2025.

However, rumours of his return to Brazil have also increased in recent days. The winger is looking to return to his origins and Santos could be, in the near future, his team.

According to UOL after the match between Santos and Palmeiras in the final of the Paulista Championship, Neymar went down to the locker room to give a speech to all the members of the squad and promised the players that he would return to Santos in 2025.

But, according to ‘Beting’, Neymar’s idea goes further. The Brazilian would not only want to return to play for the club of his life, he also wants to be the owner.

“The new MLS club for 2025, San Diego FC, owned by Egyptian-Englishman Sir Mohamed Mansour and Padres baseball player Manny Machado, is thinking about this combination: Hugo Sanchez as coach and Guillermo Ochoa as the first captain,” the journalist wrote on social media.

Hugo Sanchez, television commentator

Hugo had a stellar stint as a commentator for Televisa from 2000 to 2006, working on World Cups, Liga MX football finals and being the star of ‘La Jugada’.

During his time as a sports analyst he never turned down the chance to throw his name in the mix for a job with Real Madrid, Pumas or Cruz Azul.

Who is San Diego FC?

The new Major League Soccer franchise for the 2025 campaign will be San Diego FC. The owners of the organisation announced on October 20 the identity of the Californian team that will make its debut in the North American league.

Owned by British-Egyptian businessman Mohamed Mansour, who counts San Diego Padres star Manny Machado among his investors, it will be the 15th franchise in MLS’s Western Conference. Three signings have been confirmed so far: American goalkeeper Duran Ferree, plus two Danish players from Nordsjaelland, Marcus Ingvartsen and Jeppe Tverskov.