T
he 2019 and 2020 FIFA Club World Cup
tournaments are being played in Qatar as test
events for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, with seven
teams featuring at three venues in Doha.
European champions Liverpool play their irst ixture against
the winners of ‘Match 2’, in what will be the semi-inal, at the
45,350-capacity Education City Stadium. The inal will also be
played here three days later.
South American champions Flamengo play their own irst
ixture against the winners of ‘Match 3’, the other semi, at the
Khalifa International Stadium.
The Brazilian team are managed by Jorge Jesus, who was
in charge of the Benica side beaten by the Reds in a Europa
League quarter-inal tie of 2010.
His Flamengo side won the Copa Libertadores for the
second time in dramatic fashion last month when they came
from 1-0 down against River Plate in Lima to win 2-1 thanks to
a late brace from on-loan Inter Milan striker Gabriel Barbosa.
The 23-year-old striker known as ‘Gabi-gol’ took his tally
to 40 for the calendar year but was also sent of in the dying
seconds.
Flamengo, who beat Liverpool 3-0 to win the competition in
1981, also have a player called Everton in their squad: attacking
midielder and no7 Everton Ribeiro.
Of the other ive teams competing, Al-Sadd Sports Club
come from the host city of Doha and were 2018/19 Qatar Stars
League champions. They have previous in the tournament,
reaching the semi-inals in 2011 where they lost 4-0 to
eventual champions Barcelona, managed by Pep Guardiola.
Al-Sadd will irst face Hienghene Sport, a side from the
North Province of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of
France in the Paciic Ocean. They qualiied after winning the
Oceania Football Confederation Champions League in May.
Hienghene are the irst club from New Caledonia to
compete in the Club World Cup and only the second to
represent Oceania who are not from Australia or New Zealand.
The winners of this ‘Match 1’ will play Monterrey. Like the
Reds, this will be the Mexican club’s fourth appearance in
the tournament – they previously played in three on the
spin in 2011, 2012 and 2013. In 2012 they reached the semi-
inals before losing 3-1 to Chelsea. This year they qualify as
champions of the CONCACAF Champions League.
Meanwhile Al-Hilal will play Esperance de Tunis in ‘Match 3’.
The Saudi Arabian club will be competing at the tournament
after winning the Asian Football Confederation Champions
League for the third time last month, defeating Japanese side
Urawa Red Diamonds 3-0 on aggregate.
Their former Swansea City frontrunner Bafetimbi Gomis
was voted as the competition’s most valuable player and also
inished as top goalscorer.
Esperance de Tunis, winners of the Tunisian League
for the past three seasons, were crowned African (CAF)
champions for the fourth time in May, albeit in controversial
circumstances.
They drew 1-1 with Egyptians Wydad Casablanca in Rabat
and were leading 1-0 in the return match at their home
stadium in Tunis when their opponents walked of in protest
after an equaliser was ruled out for ofside and the VAR system
failed. In July the Court of Arbitration for Sport threw out
Casablanca’s case and the Tunisians were declared champions.
Liverpool’s most recent appearance was in 2005 in Japan
as European champions when they beat Deportivo Saprissa ofQATAR TREK