The 2020 FIFA Club World Cup is kicking-off in Doha today.
The tournament, a combination of the Intercontinental Cup, Toyota Cup and the Club World Cup, will see its 16th delayed edition in two stadiums in Doha, Qatar. Ahmad bin Ali Stadium and the Education City Stadium, both 2022 World Cup stadiums, will host each confederation champions and the local champions, Al-Duhail.
As Qatar is a green country, 30% of the stadiums capacity will be filled with fans.
Education City Stadium, Al-Rayyan, Doha (Photo: FIFA Media)
Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Al-Rayyan, Doha (Photo: FIFA Media)
The Oceanian champions, New Zealand’s Auckland City, who won the OFC Champions League, do not participate due to the strict COVID-19 regulations in the country. Therefore, the tournament will start from the 2nd round.
These tournaments are usually a stage for FIFA’s experiments with new football rules and technologies, and this tournament will be no different. FIFA will hold a trial for a new concussion rule. The reasons:
sending a strong message that, if in any doubt, the player should be withdrawn;
preventing a player sustaining another concussion during the match, as multiple head-injury incidents can have severe consequences;
reducing the pressure on medical personnel to make a quick assessment;
establishing a simple procedure that can be applied at all levels of the game.
A female officials crew will take place in the games as a well, under the guidance of Brazilian referee Edina Alves Batista.
Now, let’s meet the teams.
The African Champions aspire to shock the world. Al-Ahly (Photo: Al-Ahly official Twitter account)
Al-Ahly (Egypt)
How did they qualify? Al-Ahly won the CAF Champions League champions in November 2020, with a lucrative victory over their arch-rivals Zamalek. It’s their 6th participation in the tournament.
The coach: Pitso Mosimane (South Africa)
The stars: Magdi Afsha, Ali Mâaloul, Mohammed Shenawy, Mahmoud Kahraba
Goals for the tournament: Shock the world and become the first African club to win the CWC
Al-Duhail (Qatar)
How did they qualify? Al-Duhail is the champion of Qatar, the host country of the tournament. Each the tournament the local champions get an allocation for the early stages.
The coach: Sabri Lamouchi (French)
The stars: Dudu, Almoez Ali, Medhi Benattia
Goals for the tournament: Enjoy it while it lasts
Tigres UANL (México)
How did they qualify? Tigres are the champions of the CONCACAF Champions League. They’ve won LAFC from the MLS in a dramatic game and won their first-ever entrance to the Club World Cup.
The coach: Ricardo Ferreti (Mexican-Brazilian)
The stars: Pierre Andre Gignac, Guido Pizarro, Carlos Salcedo, Hugo Ayala
Goals for the tournament: Beat Ulsan and to give Palmeiras a good fight
The champions of North America has to go through the ‘Tigers Derby’ with Ulsan. Pizarro (Photo: Tigres’ official website)
Ulsan Hyundai (South Korea)
How did they qualify? Ulsan is the all-time bottlers of Korean football, as they’ve lost the championship in the last matchdays in two consecutive occasions now after leading the table throughout the season. Yet, in the AFC Champions League campaign in Qatar as well, they managed to shock the continent and win the tournament with a 2-1 victory against the strong Iranian champions Persepolis.
The coach: Hong Myung-bo (South Korea)
The stars: Yun Bit-garam
Goals for the tournament: Participation is a bonus
In Hong Myung-bo, Ulsan has a Korean football legend as a coach (Photo: FIFA Media)
Palmeiras (Brazil)
How did they qualify? Palmeiras was the latest team to secure their place in Doha, with a 98th minute header by Breno Lopes, who won them the Copa Libertadores for the first time since 1999. Funny enough, Lopes won’t be available for the tournament due to a problem in registration timing. In any case, as the champions of South America, Palmeiras has a reputation for standing up for in the tournament.
The coach: Abel Ferreira (Portugal)
The stars: Luiz Adriano, Gabriel Menino, Lucas Lima, Felipe Melo
Goals for the tournament: Easily qualifying for the final and surprise Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich
How did they qualify? Bayern Munich won the Champions League bubble tournament in Portugal, after beating Paris Saint Germain, and by an overall spectacular display. As usual, the European team is the clear favourite in the Club World Cup, but this year it’s even more. Bayern is so powerful and complete that anything but a clear two wins will be a massive story.
The coach: Hansi Flick
The stars: Robert Lewandowski, Thomas Müller, Alphonso Davies
Goals for the tournament: Anything but winning the title would be a complete shock
Anything but clear two wins will be a massive story. Robert Lewandowski prepares (Photo: FC Bayern official Twitter account)
