2021 FIFA Club World Cup: Tournament News & Qualifiers [R]

The CAF Champions League final is set for July 17th at the Stade Mohammed V in Casablanca, Morocco - and Kaizer Chiefs pulled off an appearance in it!

Final: Kaizer Chiefs (South Africa) - Al Ahly (Egypt)

In the AFC, the Eastern group stage is well underway and if you are wondering why the Chinese clubs are doing so terrible it's because they all sent reserves and youth players to the centralized locations due to quarantine concerns returning to China.

In other news UEFA decided to drop the away goal rule ahead of the 2021-2022 competitions. I imagine some other confederations may decide to follow.

 

And the African winner is...



It is their 10th title.

Only Real Madrid has reached double digits in any other confederation. Kaizer Chiefs were soundly beaten 3:0 after they picked up a red card just before halftime.

Al Ahly now get the chance to play their second CWC in the 2021 calendar year. The only other team to have gotten the opportunity to play for two world titles in the same calendar year was Real Madrid in 2000 when they played the inaugural FIFA CWC in January and the Intercontinental Cup in December. In case you are wondering, they won neither.

 

Participating Clubs:

UEFA: Chelsea Football Club (England)
CONMEBOL: TBD on November 20th
CONCACAF: TBD on October 28th
AFC: TBD on November 23rd
CAF: Al Ahly Sporting Club (Egypt)
OFC: TBD by July 31st (OFC ExCo nomination)
Host: TBD by December 4th

So I guess the next "event" is the OFC Executive Committee nomination.

 

Al Ahly coach Mosimane questions the seeded status of the Libertadores winner:
https://citizen.co.za/phakaaathi/lo...ts-better-ranking-for-ahly-in-club-world-cup/

I tend to agree with him (about the seeded status) but with presumably only one edition left under this format it doesn't make sense to enact a change now. Also, CAF had a string of bad results before the 2020 CWC.

In any case, the pressure will be very high for the upcoming Libertadores champions.

 

And the OFC representative is...

Wait for it...

Auckland City! What a surprise.



Participating Clubs:

UEFA: Chelsea Football Club (England)
CONMEBOL: TBD on November 20th
CONCACAF: TBD on October 28th
AFC: TBD on November 23rd
CAF: Al Ahly Sporting Club (Egypt)
OFC: Auckland City Football Club (New Zealand)*
Host: TBD by December 4th

*Nominated by OFC Executive Committee

 

We shall see at the draw!

Few updates to be made here.

CONCACAF Semis, First Leg:
Club America (MEX) - Philadelphia Union (USA) 2:0
CF Monterrey (MEX) - Cruz Azul (MEX) 1:0

Looks like once again a Mexican club. Can we at least get a non-Monterrey team?

In CONMEBOL the winner looks almost certainly Brazilian, although Ecuador's Barcelona spoilt an all-Brazilian semis:

CR Flamengo (Brazil) - Barcelona SC (Ecuador)
SE Palmeiras (Brazil) - Atletico Mineiro (Brazil)

I'm sure Palmeiras would love to redeem themselves for the terrible showing in February. Mineiro have former Atletico Madrid and Chelsea player Diego Costa on their books. Hulk has also arrived from the Chinese Super League.

Speaking of Asia, the AFC quarters and semis will be hosted regionally by Saudi Arabia and South Korea respectively. The final will also be hosted by Saudi Arabia.

 

Japan have withdrawn as 2021 CWC host:
https://www.nippon.com/en/news/reu2...G9KNVpQY3kwU0gyUnJqaHlZOHptOVFBUUhsdDhVWW4zRg..

Easiest fix is to hold it in the UAE or Qatar this year. I think it’s the UAE’s turn - no?

 

Hmm....but in Qatar it would overlap with the FIFA Arab Cup. Nope, it's got to be the UAE!

 

South Africa?
https://sundayworld.co.za/breaking-...st-2021-club-world-cup-after-japan-pulls-out/

 

According to this Saudi Arabia is also interested:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/spor...ed-in-hosting-fifas-club-world-cup/118816224/

 

And now Morocco and Egypt are also rumored:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/middleeast.in-24.com/sport/News/amp/67074

 

Looks like America and Monterrey.

 

Both record champions, Al Hilal and Pohang Steelers, are in the final eight.

 

And the C'CAF final is indeed all-Mexican, yet again:

CF Monterrey (Mexico) - Club America (Mexico)

Monterrey will host the single leg final as the higher seed on October 28th.

With Al Ahly (CAF) and Auckland City (OFC) in the CWC - and Al Hilal/Pohang Steelers (AFC) and Club America (C'CAF) still in the running we could have four confederation record champions at the competition.

 

Rio/Brazil also showing interest as alternative hosts:
https://www.italy24news.com/News/190095.html

So in summary, the potential candidates are:

- South Africa
- Saudi Arabia
- Morocco
- Egypt
- Brazil

 

AFC Draw for Quarterfinals:

 

At last, the UAE throws its hat into the ring
https://www.tellerreport.com/sports...-host-the-fifa-club-world-cup.rkQItR487Y.html

It's a shame that Dubai still does not have a large football stadium with the World Expo going on at the same time in the city. The UAE is also 82% fully vaccinated.

Elsewhere, it was only a matter of time until the Evergrande crisis affects Guangzhou FC (formerly Guangzhou Evergrande):
https://www.scmp.com/sport/football...nde-chinas-richest-football-club-need-bailout

With all that has happened (and is going on) I think it's going to be a while until a CSL club comes close to winning the AFC CL again. And will that 100K stadium be finished?