Club World Cup: Who Will Win In Saudi?

euronews (in English)

The Club World Cup kicks off in Saudi Arabia on December 12th.

Transcript

00:00 Saudi Arabia are hosting the Club World Cup for the first time.

00:04 The new look Al-Ittihad will be joined by Peps City amongst others.

00:08 So what can fans expect from the country hosting the tournament?

00:11 And can the Pro League champions compete with the world's best clubs?

00:15 Hello there and welcome to Football Now.

00:21 Now FIFA's annual Club World Cup kicks off on December 12th

00:25 as continental champions from all over the globe

00:27 make their way to Saudi Arabia to compete for one of the biggest club prizes on offer.

00:32 Now the teams have all been decided in the competition

00:35 so let's have a look at those involved and who could be taking that trophy home.

00:39 Seven continental representatives will enter this year's tournament

00:43 with the lowest seeded teams beginning their campaign earlier than others.

00:47 Entering the first round will be host nation representatives

00:50 and Saudi Pro League champions Al-Ittihad.

00:53 They'll be looking to make an impact at the tournament

00:55 after spending 120 million euros this summer

00:58 on names such as Karim Benzema and Fabinho.

01:01 Also joining them will be New Zealand side Auckland City

01:04 who won the Oceania Champions League back in May.

01:07 They'll be participating in the tournament for a record 11th time.

01:11 Egyptian side and current CAF Champions League winners Al-Ahly will enter at round two.

01:16 They'll be competing fresh from their involvement in the inaugural African Football League.

01:21 Joining them at that stage will be Mexican side Club León.

01:25 They won the CONCACAF Champions League back in June.

01:28 And you are at Red Diamonds from Japan.

01:30 The reigning Asian Champions League winners after they beat Al-Hilal in May.

01:35 The winner of that game will face Manchester City in the semi-final

01:38 who are participating for the first time after winning the UEFA Champions League last season.

01:43 In the other semi-final will be Copa Libertadores champions Fluminense.

01:47 Having only won the competition in early November

01:49 the South American side were the last ones to be confirmed.

01:52 Whoever progresses from those semis will face off in the final in Jeddah on December 22nd

01:57 as the new club champion of the world will be crowned.

02:01 Pep Guardiola's Manchester City will head to Saudi as favourites after an incredible year for them.

02:06 They became only the second side in English footballing history to win the treble in May

02:10 following their maiden Champions League win which booked them their place in this tournament.

02:14 It means that the Club World Cup is the only major prize that they're yet to win.

02:18 So can they finally complete the set?

02:20 The Club World Cup is an interesting one.

02:22 I feel like when you're an outsider you don't really care for it as much.

02:27 But when you're a clubber in it, I don't think there's a shift in momentum.

02:32 There's a trophy at stake here, you might as well go and win it.

02:36 I always remember growing up I always liked when you saw that badge that you get, the goals of it.

02:41 I thought that would be good to have on a City kit one day.

02:44 It's similar to the Community Shield in that sense where you're in it, you might as well, there's a trophy there.

02:50 You get a special at the moment, at the end of it, why not go and win it?

02:52 You can call yourselves world champions.

02:54 Champions of Europe is one thing, Champions of the world is a special thing

02:59 that I'm sure City fans would love to sing if they can get the job done.

03:03 Now it won't be news to many that Saudi Arabia inside spent a lot of money in this summer's transfer market.

03:08 The representatives in this year's Club World Cup for them are the Pro League champions Al-Ittihad.

03:13 The Tigers are one of four sides in the country to be backed by the Public Investment Fund

03:18 which allowed them to bring the likes of Karim Benzema, N'Golo Kante and Fabinho into the club this summer.

03:24 The big question is, what kind of challenge will they bring to PEP City and some of the world's other best teams?

03:29 So we've seen already from last year that Saudi Arabia with Al-Falal made historic progress in the last Club World Cup

03:35 becoming the first Asian team to make it into the final.

03:37 They did pretty well against Real Madrid, it wasn't like a complete walkover at all by Real Madrid.

03:42 And now you've got an Al-Ittihad team that is exponentially better, certainly on paper,

03:48 than the Al-Falal team because of the explosion in investment.

03:51 So now you've got guys like Fabinho, Kante, Benzema who have been there, done there, won it all,

03:56 including some of those guys who are previous winners of the Club World Cup.

04:00 Man City, I think against any team in the world, I think you can even go as far as saying overwhelming favourites against anyone.

04:07 But this Al-Ittihad team on home soil, I think they've certainly got a chance.

04:12 But let's not discount the other team as well, Al-Ittihad, it's not going to be all their own way.

04:16 Potentially, I think the second round meeting with Egypt's Al-Atli, that is going to be an absolutely incredible spectacle.

04:22 You've got to get through that test first.

04:24 Yes, not just on the pitch where Saudi will be judged in December 2.

04:27 For a lot of fans from all areas of the world, this will be their first time visiting the kingdom.

04:32 And with the country set to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup, first impressions matter.

04:37 So what can supporters expect when coming to the country?

04:40 And just how important is it to Saudi that the tournament is a success?

04:44 The football experience itself will be a little bit different.

04:48 There's a lot of singing. It's a spiritual experience. It's a collective experience.

04:55 That's one of the things that when I've been to Saudi Arabia, I found most striking.

04:59 Regardless of what fans think, whether they attend or not, there's plenty of time to build up and win people over.

05:08 And that's what Qatar did, I think, in the entire build up to the Qatar World Cup.

05:13 It was about, are the stadiums going to be up to scratch? Of course they were.

05:17 Is the weather going to be too hot? Well, it was moved to winter. Is it going to be safe?

05:22 It was probably the safest ever World Cup we've seen. And Saudi Arabia will adopt the same approach.

05:26 If the Club World Cup can help with that, then great.

05:29 And I think that as we saw with Qatar, there'll be a real emphasis from this young Saudi population

05:36 to maybe change people's minds about what the quality of football is like in Saudi Arabia

05:41 and what the culture is like as well.

05:43 Yeah, another festival of football coming our way in the Middle East as Al-Ittihad, Man City and others compete to win the Club World Cup.

05:50 That is all we have time for on this week's show.

05:52 Do let us know your thoughts at home using the hashtag #FootballNowCWC and we'll see you next time. Bye for now.

05:58 [music]

Category

Transcript

Recommended