FIFA Club World Cup 2020 Preview

The 17th edition of the FIFA Club World Cup 2020 will take place in Qatar from 4 to 11 February 2021. The event will see 6 teams competing, before the new format of 24 teams will be introduced from 2022.

2020 Champions League winner Bayern will travel with all its stars. They strive to follow the footsteps of Klopps’ Liverpool side, who won the competition in 2019. A late Firmino winner in the 9th minute of extra time against Flamengo in the final secured the first ever title of the Club World Cup for The Reds.

With a win, Bayern could complete the perfect season with 6 titles out of 6 competitions. Therefore, they may take the Club World Cup 2020 more seriously than ever before. They had previously already won the German championship, the Champions League, the DFB Cup, the national Supercup and the European Supercup. Their biggest contender is expected to be Palmeiras Sao Paulo. The Brazilian team just booked their ticket last week, with a 1:0-win in the final of the Copa Libertadores against Santos.

Participants of the Club World Cup 2020

Qualified for the competition, which is considered the successor to the World Cup, are all winners of the continental championship competitions plus one team from the host country.

Accordingly, Bayern Munich (winner of the UEFA Champions League), Palmeiras Sao Paulo (winner of the South American Copa Libertadores), Al Ahly (winner of the African CAF Champions League), Tigres de Monterrey (winner of the Central and North American CONCACAF Champions League), Ulsan Hyundai (winner of the AFC Champions League) and Auckland City (winner of the Oceania OFC Champions League) are eligible to take part in the Club World Cup 2020. In addition to that, Al-Duhail as reigning champions of the host country participates. Auckland City has cancelled their participation due to the Corona pandemic. Thus, six teams will play for the title this year.

Mode

The winner will be decided by knockout matches. The two winners of the UEFA Champions League and the Copa Libertadores are traditionally seeded for the semi-finals. The remaining participants will determine the two other semi-finalists in play-off matches, resulting in the following matches.

Play-off matches
4 February: Tigres – Ulsan | 2 p.m.
4 February: Al-Duhail – Al Ahly | 5:30 p.m.

The two semi-finals will be played on 7 and 8 February. Palmeiras faces Tigres or Ulsan on 7 February at 6 pm (UK local time). Following behind, Bayern plays the winner from Al-Duhail against Al Ahly exactly one day later. The final and the match for third place will take place on 11 February at 6 pm and 3 pm respectively.