Club World Cup draw LIVE: Manchester City discover opponents in Fifa’s tournament of champions
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Manchester City will discover who they will be facing in the Club World Cup when the draw for Fifa’s tournament of champions takes place this afternoon.
Pep Guardiola’s men have never featured in the competition before but qualified when they defeated Inter Milan in the Champions League final in Istanbul back in June. By winning the trophy and secuing their title as champions of Europe, City have automatically progressed to the semi-finals of the Club World Cup alongside the eventual winners of the Copa Libertadores.
City will be competing against the winners of the different federations’ Champions Leagues as well as the champions of the host nation Saudi Arabia which is Al-Ittihad. While it is not seen as a big deal in Europe, the Club World Cup is highly respected among clubs from other continents and Guardiola will want to add the trophy to the Blues’ already impressive haul.
Follow along for all the updates from the Club World Cup draw:
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Club World Cup draw
Former Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure is in the house and will be helping to draw the balls to see who will play who.
Conmebol’s Copa Libertadores are still unknown as the final of that tournament is scheduled to take place on 4 November.
The winners will qualify for the Club World Cup’s semi-final stage.
Club World Cup draw
Fifa president Gianni Infantino has now taken to the stage to give a speech of his own before this draw of just seven teams is decided.
Club World Cup schedule
First round: Al Ittihad FC v Auckland City FC (12 December)
Second round: Match 2 -Team A vs Team B (15 December)
Match 3 – Team C vs Team D (15 December)
Semi-finals: Conmebol representative vs M2 or M3 winner (18 December)
M2 or M3 winner vs Manchester City FC (19 December)
Final: Semi-final 1 winner vs Semi-final 2 winner (22 December)
Club World Cup draw
The Saudi Arabian hosts begin by welcoming all the viewers to the draw before explaining how popular the sport is in the country
Karim Benzema is in the audience and will be playing for Al Ittihad during this tournament.
Club World Cup draw
The first round match will be played between Al Ittihad FC and Auckland City FC on 12th December.
Fifa Club World Cup 2023 participants
Afc Champions League 2022 winners: Urawa Reds, Japan
Caf Champions League 2022/2023 winners: Al Ahly FC, Egypt
Concacaf Champions League 2023 winners: Club León, Mexico
Conmebol Libertadores 2023 winners: TBD
Ofc Champions League 2023 winners: Auckland City FC, New Zealand
Uefa Champions League 2022/2023 winners: Manchester City FC, England
Hosts: Al Ittihad FC, Saudi Arabia
Club World Cup draw
Good afternoon and welcome to The Independent’s coverage of Fifa’s Club World Cup draw.
Manchester City will learn who they’ll face in Fifa’s tournament of champions later today as the draw takes place in Jeddah. The Fifa Club World Cup will continue as a seven-team tournament though it is scheduled to expand into a 32-team tournament in 2025.
The following teams have qualifed for this year’s tournament in Saudi Arabia:
Manchester City, Al Ahly, Al Ittihad, Auckland City, Leon, and Urawa Red Diamonds while the eventual winners of the Copa Libertadores will join the competition when they are known.
The draw is about to get underway so we’ll keep you informed of all the latest updates.
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