The
2023/2024 Champions League
enters its decisive phases, with the quarterfinals ahead and the eight best teams on the continent fighting in round-trip series to advance to the grand final, scheduled for June 1, at
Wembley
.
Real Madrid
,
Barcelona
,
Paris Saint-Germain
,
Arsenal
,
Manchester City
,
Borussia Dortmund
,
Bayern Munich
and the winner between Atlético de Madrid and Inter of Italy, are the clubs that remain alive in the most exciting competition on the Old Continent, which last year had Pep Guardiola's team as champions.
One of the last to join this winning lot was Dortmund, who beat PSV at home 2-0 and advanced to the round thanks to the 1-1 draw in the first leg.
The quarterfinals of the Champions League will be played between April 9 and 10 (first legs) and April 16 and 17 (return dates).
The semifinals will then follow, scheduled for April 30 and May 1 (first leg), and May 7 and 8 (second leg).
And as said, the grand final will be on June 1st in London.
Real Madrid suffered but passed the phase, as always.
Photo: REUTERS / Ana Beltran.
When is the draw for the quarterfinals?
The draw for the quarterfinals and the rest of the draw, including semifinals and final, will take place on Friday, March 15 at 8 in the morning (Argentine time).
The draw is completely open, which means that there can be crossovers between teams from the same country.
There is no seeding or country protection, so clubs can face rivals from the same national federation and clubs they have previously faced in the group stage.
Kylian Mbappe and goalkeeper Donnarumma seek the first Champions League for PSG.
FRANCK FIFE / AFP.
How does the draw work?
Eight balls with the names of the quarterfinalists are placed in a large central drum, where they are mixed.
The first team drawn plays the first home game against the second team drawn.
The procedure will be repeated with the other balls in the pot to complete the quarterfinal pairings.
For the semi-final draw, four balls with papers marked 'Quarterfinal Winner 1' to 'Quarterfinal Winner 4' will be placed in a large container and mixed. The first and second balls drawn determine the first pairing of semi-finals, and the first ball drawn represents the home team for the first leg. The procedure is repeated with the remaining balls from the container to complete the semi-final pairings.
For administrative reasons, a third draw is held to determine the 'home' team in the final.
Everything will be seen by streaming through the UEFA website and through different sports signals that will broadcast the broadcast.
The 2023/24 UEFA Champions League final will take place at London's Wembley Stadium on Saturday, June 1.
Known as the 'Home of Football', Wembley has hosted seven European Cup finals, more than any other stadium.
The Club World Cup, an extra prize
The champion of the 2023/2024 Champions League will win the Orejona, the most desired prize in football on the Old Continent, but will also earn a place for the 2025 Club World Cup, the special edition that will take place in the United States and with 32 teams from all over the world.
UEFA will have 12 representatives, with places guaranteed for the last four champions and the best placed in a ranking that FIFA made official in recent weeks.
Chelsea
,
Real Madrid
and
Manchester City
, the last three kings of the continent, will be in the competition.
Chelsea, champion of the Champions League in 2021, one of the first to secure their place in the Club World Cup.
Photo: EFE/EPA/ISABEL INFANTES.
And many others have already secured their ticket due to their good work in the last Champions League:
Bayern Munich, Inter, PSG, Porto, Borussia, Benfica and Juventus
.
To these 10 clubs we will have to add two more, which will come from the champion of this edition and whoever is best placed in the ranking.
If the champion is Real Madrid or Manchester City, one more spot will open up in the rankings.
While waiting for results that could occur from the quarterfinals to the final, Barcelona and Atlético de Madrid remain expectant, as do other teams such as England's Arsenal, which would only benefit from being champion.
A limit of two clubs per country will apply to the access list, with the exception of cases where more than two clubs from the same country win the confederation's main club competition during the four-year period.
That is why teams like Liverpool, Napoli, Leipzig, Sevilla or Milan have already been left out of consideration despite having a better ranking than RB Salzburg from Austria, for example, which is still in the race.
The new 32-team competition, which will take place in the United States during June and July 2025, features clubs from each of the six confederations, competing for the title of world champions.
With information from UEFA.com and FIFA.com