Key events
No Haaland, but he did win a gong today:
Pep Guardiola has won this competition three times, with Barcelona in 2009 and 2011 and Bayern in 2013. In 2009, his Barca team beat Estudiantes (striped shirt, black panties) and in 2011 they beat Santos. At Bayern, after inheriting Jupp Heynckes’ Treble winners, it was Morocco’s Raja Casablanca who were the beaten finalists.
The last South American team to win this trophy were Corinthians in 2012, when they beat Rafa Benitez’s Chelsea. Chelsea were the last English winners, beating Palmeiras in 2021.
No Haaland: Three changes for Manchester City, with Ruben Dias in for Manuel Akanji, who is stood down with Matheus Nunes and Mateo Kovacic. Rico Lewis and Julian Alvarez come in.
No changes for the Fluminense team that beat Al Ahly. The veterans get their spin, as do John Kennedy and Andre.
The teams
Manchester City: Ederson; Walker, Stones, Dias, Ake; Lewis, Rodri; Foden, Silva, Grealish; Alvarez. Subs: Ortega, Carson, Phillips, Kovacic, Gomez, Gvardiol, Akanji, Nunes, Bobb, Alleyne, Susoho, Hamilton.
Our #ClubWC final line-up 💪
XI | Ederson, Walker (C), Stones, Dias, Ake, Rodrigo, Lewis, Bernardo, Foden, Grealish, Alvarez
SUBS | Ortega Moreno, Carson, Phillips, Kovacic, Gomez, Gvardiol, Akanji, Nunes, Bobb, Alleyne, Susoho, Hamilton#ManCity pic.twitter.com/YVPTOnm41z
— Manchester City (@ManCity) December 22, 2023
Fluminense: Fabio; Xavier, Nino, Melo, Marcelo; Andre, Martinelli; Arias, Ganso, Keno; Cano. Subs: Rangel, Eudes, Marlon, Alexsander, Kennedy, Daniel, Guga, Santos, Gonzalez, Barbosa, Braz, Lima.
Earlier, via PA Media.
Egyptian side Al Ahly saw off a fightback from Urawa Red Diamonds to claim third place in the Club World Cup with a 4-2 victory in Jeddah.The African champions were pegged back by their Asian counterparts as a Jose Kante volley and Alexander Scholz penalty cancelled out early goals from Yasser Ibrahim and Percy Tau. Al Ahly reclaimed the lead on the hour when Yoshio Koizumi deflected an Ali Maaloul shot into his own net. Maaloul then missed a penalty but wrapped up the victory with a fine free-kick in stoppage time.
Some background on Fluminense, too.
Andre is a much-wanted midfielder. City and Liverpool have both been linked.
Flu’s coach is also coach of Brazil.
Of course, this tournament is about far more than a football trophy.
The World Club Cup and its predecessor, the Intercontinental Cup, have rarely garnered obsessive attention in Europe: the casual fan in England is more likely to remember the horrified reaction in 2000, when Manchester United pulled out of the FA Cup to compete, than the opponents Liverpool and Chelsea played when winning two of the past five finals. Europe has dominated while paying perfunctory respects. But the tournament’s status is about to rocket: going through the motions over four summer weeks will hardly be an option.
Players’ unions slammed the expansion; players themselves, given no say and burdened with near-impossible workloads, are known to view it dimly. Their employers feel differently, a fact shown in an effusive response from the European Club Association that hailed “fantastic news for club football in general”.
There’s a determination within the City camp.
Nick Ames is one of our team in Saudi Arabia.
Perhaps that will all flow back at King Abdullah Sports City. “They play a typical Brazilian style from the 70s, 80s, early 90s,” Guardiola enthused of an attack-minded Fluminense, who entertained greatly in beating Al-Ahly 2-0 on Monday but looked as porous as they did fluent. “They play with the ball, a lot of short passes, the combinations are really good. We will have to be aware of how much we run behind the ball and accept we play a team who play in a way we’ve never faced before.
“I love how [Brazilian teams] associate between each other and respect a lot of time with the ball. I’ve huge respect for the essence of Brazil: slow and quick, how they handle both rhythms. I saw it for many years.”
Preamble
To be the champions of the world is quite the prize. Ask the players who have achieved it, and they will tell you it is a special feeling. The odd thing is the tournament itself has never quite taken off, So, good luck Don Gianni, with your 25-day club competition in the summer of 2025. Still, there is little doubt that Pep Guardiola wants to win this. He’s been in full game-face mode this week. He’s someone who fully appreciates the legacy of Brazilian football, and Fluminense definitely represent that, what with them featuring Marcelo, Ganso and Felipe Melo. (Marcelo is just 35!) In Fernando Diniz they have a coach with a revolutionary approach, and some have even compared him to Pep, though his style of play is said to be rather different. So, an intriguing tactical battle, and one played in Saudi Arabia, which is something we’re going to have to get used to.
The kick-off is at 6pm UK time. Join me.
