The Rangers domino that MUST fall in uphill Club World Cup battle as Celtic Champions League flop has major impact

Rangers must win against Aris Limassol if they are to keep their faint hopes of reaching the lucrative FIFA Club World Cup alive.

It comes after Celtic blew the chance to do their rivals a favour as they crashed out of the Champions League - after Brendan Rodgers' side failed to knock Feyenoord out of European competition. The new tournament, announced by FIFA president Gianni Infantino during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, will take place every four years starting in the USA in June 2025 with 32 teams competing from all over the world, including the likes of Neymar’s Al Hilal and recent Copa Libertadores winners Fluminese.

The four Champions League winners from 2021-2024 - Chelsea, Real Madrid, Man City and this season’s winners -plus the next 8 highest ranked teams in the UEFA coefficient rankings from the same period. And while Rangers are expected to be among the clubs who are near the top of the list the Scottish Premiership side look likely to be boxed out.

Two teams are to be allowed per country giving the elite nations an advantage - and the methodology that the tournaments participants will be be decided on has yet to be named. If it was to be Champions League points the Ibrox side would miss out - but if it's coefficient points from all European competitions then a money-spinning chance for Rangers could still be alive.

As it stands, the UEFA teams that would qualify on coefficient points are Chelsea, Real Madrid, Man City, Bayern Munich, Roma, Inter Milan, PSG, Villarreal, RB Leipzig, Porto and Benfica. And if one of these clubs win the Champions League this term the door will open for an opening for one of Feyenoord, Ajax, Rangers and Club Brugge.

To keep that option alive Philippe Clement's side must