Oh well tough luck Hygiene Spa there.... as much as I love a good Cinderella-story, I make an exception when I'm attending the matches themselves, in which case I kind of want to see the big guns go through. The Esperence vs Al-Hilal / Monterrey vs Al Sadd doubleheader will classic. A Monterrey vs the New Caledonians not so much....
🤣 🤣 🤣Futbol llanero en el #MundialdeClubesxFOXNo pierdas de vista el balón 🤪 pic.twitter.com/Jra9HAd6p6— FOX Sports MX (@FOXSportsMX) December 11, 2019
Matchday 1 - Summary: M1 | 11.12.19 | Al Sadd - Hienghène Sport 3:1 AET (Playoff) M2 | 14.12.19 | CF Monterrey - Al Sadd (Quarterfinal) M3 | 14.12.19 | Al Hilal - Espérance Tunis (Quarterfinal) M4 | 17.12.19 | Loser M2 - Loser M3 (Match for 5th Place) M5 | 17.12.19 | CR Flamengo - Winner M3 (Semifinal) M6 | 18.12.19 | Winner M2 - Liverpool FC (Semifinal) M7 | 21.12.19 | Loser M6 - Loser M5 (Match for 3rd Place) M8 | 21.12.19 | Winner M6 - Winner M5 (Final)
Moving on to Saturday's quarterfinals, Al Sadd will now encounter Monterrey. Los Rayados (the "striped ones") are participating in their fourth CWC. They last played in 2013 and finished third in 2012. Since then Monterrey have further strengthened their status as one of Mexico's elite clubs by opening a new stadium in 2015 - the Estadio BBVA: Monterrey have got several quality players capable of raising some eyebrows in the tournament. They added Dutch player Vincent Janssen (17 caps for the Netherlands) this summer. To the reading Liga MX fans, has he been a strong addition? It's difficult picking a favorite in this match. Monterrey have a strong roster but Al Sadd are not just hosts - they are also Asian semifinalists this year. One thing is for certain, Al Sadd will have to be a lot more clinical in front of the goal.
Janssen was pretty quiet during the season but was playing really well during the playoffs. He picked up an injury though in his last game and I think he's doubtful for this game.
As for the all-Arab quarterfinal between Al Hilal and Espérance (a contemporary version of the old Afro-Asian Cup), a clear favorite emerges there - at least on paper. After winning the AFC Champions League in November, for the first time since 2000, Al Hilal ("the Crescent") are arguably the most successful club in Asian football history. A total of three continental titles may not get you far in other confederations, but in the AFC that's a shared record with South Korea's Pohang Steelers. So what sets them apart you ask? It's the secondary Asian titles. Al Hilal have also won two AFC Cup Winners' Cups and two AFC Super Cups. Both competitions are now discontinued but carried importance then. They are a strong side that includes former MLS legend Sebastian Giovinco, Peruvian Andre Carillo and Bafétimbi Gomis (formerly Lyon). It was the first time a club from West Asia won the ACL title since Al Sadd in 2011. On the other side you have Espérance (which translates to "hope") participating in their third CWC as back-to-back African champions. The Blood and Gold, as they are nicknamed, of course won the title in controversial fashion as their opponents - Wydad Casablanca - refused to complete the second leg due to disagreements with the referee (and the absence of VAR). Espérance are traditionally a big club in Africa with four CAF Champions League titles and one Afro-Asian Cup to their name. While they have experience in the CWC, something Al Hilal do not, they have yet to reach their first semifinal and are looking to overcome a rather miserable African record in the competition in the last five years: 2014: Moghreb Tetouan - Auckland City 0:0 AET; 3:4 PEN 2014: ES Setif - Auckland City 0:1 2014: ES Setif - Western Sydney Wanderers 2:2; 5:4 PEN 2015: TP Mazembe - Sanfrecce Hiroshima 0:3 2015: Club America - TP Mazembe 2:1 2016: Mamelodi Sundowns - Kashima Antlers 0:2 2016: Jeonbuk Motors - Mamelodi Sundowns 4:1 2017: CF Pachuca - Wydad Casablanca 1:0 AET 2017: Wydad Casablanca - Urawa Reds 2:3 2018: Espérance Tunis - Al Ain 0:3 2018: Espérance Tunis - CD Guadalajara 1:1 6:5 PEN As you can see the CAF representatives have only left the field as winners twice, both times in the 5th place match. Yep, all signs point towards Al Hilal in this match for me.
Yeah but I expect a huge Esperence / Tunisian, and to be honest North African support in general at the stadium so we'll see. It depends on how much of the 15,000 seats are going for the first game as the fans will be split with Al Sadd fans too. Anyhoo, I know there will be at least one neutral there tomorrow!
Hopefully most Espérance fans will stick around for the evening match so the stadium is at least full for that one. Still annoyed after all these years that both quarterfinals are treated as a doubleheader. It's one thing doing that with placement matches but each quarterfinal should have its spot in the limelight. Oh well, no point in complaining about it now. Only one more year under the current format.
Janssen and Ortiz out for Monterrey. Previous CWC rankings for all clubs playing today: Monterrey 2011: 5th 2012: 3rd 2013: 5th Espérance 2011: 6th 2018: 5th Al Sadd 2011: 3rd Al Hilal None Both times Monterrey finished 5th they lost to the host team in the quarterfinals.
Esperance supporters arrested in Qatar before Club World Cup opener Seem like a rowdy bunch. Be careful @glennaldo_sf About to kick off...
Still scoreless between Al Hilal and Esperance after a lively first half. It's the expected home match in the stands for Esperance. Flamengo are also in attendance to scout their semifinal opponent. Surprisingly, Giovinco and Gomis are on the bench for Al Hilal.
FT: Al Hilal - Esperance 1:0 Al Hilal progress in spite of a stupid red card by Kanno towards the end. Esperance fail to reach the semis for the third time in their participation history and it's another year to forget for CAF at the CWC. While the fan rivalry in the stands would have been better for Flamengo - Esperance, Al Hilal progressing makes it a lot more suspenseful on the field for those of us watching on TV.
Good start to the Monterrey - Al Sadd match. Both teams going for it! Looking at the stands it appears most tickets to this double-header were snatched up by Esperance fans who, understandably, were not in the mood to stick around for the second match. PS: Apparently Giovinco had stomach issues and that's the reason for his absence.
HT: Monterrey - Al Sadd 2:0 Los rayados very much in the driver's seat after a terrific Vangioni strike and an absolute gift by Al Sadd's Gabi just before halftime. Al Sadd have had about 60% possession and have looked very capable of scoring with quick passes into space but that terrible Gabi back-pass now has put them in a significant hole. Given his experience, he's the last player on Al Sadd I expected this mistake from.
Monterrey up with two goals against the run of play. The first a wonder shot and the second a terrible mistake by Al Sadd at the end of the second half.
Usually the biggest upsets in this particular tournament have always been at the expense of the South American Champions Just like in 2010, 2013 and last year. Hopefully Flamengo learns from this because I really want to see a classic final between Liverpool and Flamengo.
FT: Monterrey - Al Sadd 3:2 In the end Monterrey scrape through and progress to face Liverpool. From Al Sadd's perspective the gifted goal just before halftime weighs very heavy. But for us viewers we got to see two great strikes. First Vangioni and then Abdelkarim.
Congratulations Monterrey. Looks like the North American representative will be able to get to the bronze medal game this time .