2017 FIFA Club World Cup: Tournament News & Qualifiers [R]

Not sure. If there is an issue take it to customer service.

You haven't answered my question, how many continental finals have you attended? Is this your second or third? (I assume you will attend Pachuca-Tigres)

I'm sitting on two Asian finals but quite eager to get a UEFA final in there one of these years.

 

All on track for an all-Kiwi final after the first legs in the OFC semis.

AS Tefana (Tahiti) - Auckland City (NZL) 0:2
AS Magenta (New Caledonia) - Team Wellington (NZL) 2:2

Are the OFC and CONCACAF boring or what?

 

Boring from an association membership point of view. I do expect the Tigres-Pachuca series to be very exciting. For all we know Auckland City-Team Welly could be a cracking encounter as well.

 

The UAE 2017 tournament logo has been revealed:

 

Believe it or not, but Al Jazira is probably the second-best supported club in the country after Al Ain. Al Jazira and their fans have clearly prioritized the final stretch of the league leading to the (provisional) CWC host spot but I agree this is pathetic. For reference, the Arabian Gulf League averages about 2,500 and fails repeatedly to draw in the huge expat population. It's a shame really because the quality on the field is much better than the overall look of the product.

Article on AGL Attendance

Shanghai SIPG star Oscar didn't have a very good week. But have a look yourselves:


UEFA Quarterfinals

Juventus - Barcelona 3:0
Dortmund - Monaco 2:3
Bayern - Real Madrid 1:2
Atletico - Leicester 1:0

I'm sure most of you heard about the Dortmund bus attack. Very unsettling and I think it was harsh to ask the Dortmund players to play the very next day.

Juventus convincingly beat Barca who surely are running out of incredible comebacks at some point - right? Didn't expect Real to win in Munich but this one isn't over.

 

And the OFC final is....



...exactly as predicted....



Auckland City (NZL) - Team Wellington (NZL)


Team Wellington beat AS Magenta 7:1 in the second leg.

Here is the full match. Some "stadium" eh?


I sure hope this is Team Welly's year. For the sake of variety.

 

We can already update this...CONCACAF and the OFC competing for most predictable confederation ever. Which streak will be broken first?

Longest consecutive winning streak in each confederation's premier club competition:

CONCACAF:
12 – Mexico (ongoing)

OFC:
7 – New Zealand (ongoing)

UEFA:
6 – England (end of streak 1982)

CONMEBOL:
4 – Argentina (end of streak 1970 and 1975); Brazil (end of streak 2013)

AFC:
3 – South Korea (end of streak 1998)

CAF:
3 – Cameroon (end of streak 1980)

 

The first leg of the CONCACAF final is just around the corner - tomorrow Tuesday April 18.

Pachuca have now been scoreless in five consecutive Liga MX matches. Since March 4 the only games they have scored in were the CCL matches against Dallas:

Dallas - Pachuca 2:1
Queretaro - Pachuca 3:0
Pachuca - Puebla 0:0
Pachuca - Dallas 3:1
Santos - Pachuca 1:0
Pachuca - Morelia 0:0
Pachuca - Chivas 0:0

I'm guessing Tigres like their chances.

 

Tigres - Pachuca 1:1



Not Vargas' match. Pachuca finally score again versus Mexican opposition and grab the important away goal. Interesting fact, Pachuca has never lost an international final.

In UEFA both Madrid clubs reached the semis. Ronaldo scored five out of six goals in the series against Bayern Munich. The remaining quarterfinals are tonight.

 

And the final four in UEFA are...

Real Madrid (Spain)
Atletico Madrid (Spain)
Juventus FC (Italy)
AS Monaco (France)

No comebacks tonight. Juventus held Barcelona scoreless at the Camp Nou and advanced 3:0 on aggregate. Monaco are back in the semis for the first time since 2004 when they made their only final appearance in club history.

 

UEFA Semis Draw

Real Madrid (Spain) - Atletico Madrid (Spain)
AS Monaco (France) - Juventus FC (Italy)

No "Madrid final" this year...

 

Liga MX Weekend Results:

Monterrey - Tigres 1:0
Atlas - Pachuca 1:0

The own-goal in the first leg of the CCL final remains the only goal scored by Pachuca in seven consecutive matches against Liga MX clubs. Tigres also continued their underwhelming league form meaning the 8th and 9th placed teams in the Liga MX table square off on Wednesday for the CONCACAF title.

 

Tonight the first UAE 2017 participant will be determined in CONCACAF. While I highlighted the Pachuca scoring problems above they do have the following going for them:

- They are unbeaten in 14 consecutive CCL home matches
- They have never lost an international final
- Tigres has never won an international final (of note)