Real Madrid already know their possible rivals for the semi-finals of the Club World Cup, taking place in Morocco from 1-11 February. The white team could face either the Seattle Sounders or the winner of the first-round match between Al Alhy and Auckland City, according to the draw that took place this Friday at the Mohammed VI de Salé football complex in the Moroccan city of Rabat.
Madrid will not meet their rivals in the Mundialito semifinals until February 4 when the second round matches are played. Your opponent for a place in the final of the tournament will come from the match between the American Seattle Sounders and the winner of the duel between Al Alhy from Egypt and Auckland City. The latter is the opening game on February 1st.
The Egyptian team, with 18 games at the FIFA Club World Cup, is the strongest team in African football history with 10 Champions League wins. Two editions ago, they finished third in the tournament after beating Palmeiras on penalties in the match that defined third and fourth places. The Africans meet New Zealand’s Auckland City, the 10-time Oceanian champions, in this first round.
At the last edition of their continental championship, they defeated Venus of French Polynesia (3-0) in the final. It is his tenth participation in the competition, with a third place finish in 2014 as best result. The third and final possible rival for Real Madrid in the semifinals on February 8th are the Seattle Sounders, the Concacaf champions and the first American team to play in the Club World Cup. The Americans enter the game directly in the second round.
The other match in this tie will be Wydad Casablanca-Al Hilal. The Moroccans beat the aforementioned Al Alhy in the last edition of the African Champions League – a competition they have won three times (1992, 2017 and 2022) but their status as hosts allowed runners-up Egyptians to also take part in the tournament.
For their part, Saudi team Al Hilal will take part as champions of the 2021 Asian Champions League, with the 2022 champions yet to be determined.The winner of this game will face Libertadores champions Flamengo from Brazil in the other semi-final. The Rio de Janeiro team with Arturo Vidal, David Luiz, Filipe Luis and Gabigol in their squad is a priori the strongest rival Real Madrid could face. The Brazilian team lost to Liverpool in the 2019 final (0-1).
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