The Club World Cup is looming for Real Madrid
Yet again, Real Madrid finds themselves in the FIFA Club World Cup for the third consecutive year after being crowned champions of Europe. The Spaniards have won it during the past two years and will definitely want to repeat that success and lift their first trophy of the season and the first for Santiago Solari as the Head Coach.
Taking a quick look at the competition, let’s make sure we have all the required information before preparing ourselves for what will hopefully be our first trophy of the season as we end 2018 in style.
Dates:
The FIFA Club World Cup will be starting on December 12 and will run on until December 22. It will be held in Abu Dhabi, UAE just like it was last year.
Teams:
Al Ain (UAE)
They make it to this competition after winning the 2017/2018 UAE Pro League
CD Guadalajara (Mexico)
They make it to this competition after winning the CONCACAF Champions League
Esperance S. De Tunis (Tunisia)
They make it to this competition after winning the CAF Champions League
Kashima Antlers (Japan)
They make it to this competition after winning the Asian Champions League
Real Madrid (Spain)
They make it to this competition after winning the UEFA Champions League
River Plate (Argentina)
They make it to this competition after winning the Copa Libertadores
Team Wellington FC (New Zealand)
They make it to this competition after winning the OFC Champions League
A Look at Real Madrid:
Along with their Spanish rivals, Barcelona, Los Merengues have carried this trophy three times and are the joint-highest winners of this tournament. Winning it this year would put them as the sole highest champions, which is always a good thing to have.
It’s also worth noting that both Real Madrid and Barcelona have the second-highest appearances with four while Auckland City is the leaders with eight appearances in the competition.
Santiago Solari is not taking any chances as he named a full squad to join him in Abu Dhabi including injured players such as Nacho Fernandez, Carlos Casemiro and Mariano Diaz. Even though the Spaniards are favorites to win this competition yet again, we have all seen various shocks so far this season so we really should not be taking it for granted.
There are many who don’t feel as though the FIFA World Cup is a competition that should be taken too seriously but whether you agree with that statement or not, no one can deny that it is a massive boost to the players to lift the trophy and go for another year with that beautiful gold badge on their shirts during all the matches. They play their first match of the competition on December 19 as we await to see who their opponents will be depending on how the previous fixtures go.
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This will prove to be a welcome change to the league as we await the second round of the UEFA Champions League and hopefully, they’ll provide us with something to celebrate just a few days before Christmas and the New Year.