The FIFA Club World Cup 2023 will kick off this Tuesday in Jeddah, on the shores of the Red Sea in Saudi Arabia. It will be the twentieth and final edition of the tournament that brings together the top 7 teams in the world. From the next edition, when the United States hosts it, 32 teams will compete, making it even more similar to the FIFA World Cup for national teams. It is worth remembering that the Club World Cup succeeded the Intercontinental Final, which was contested only by the champions of the Copa Libertadores of America (Conmebol) and the Champions League (UEFA), a tournament played since 1960.

Fluminense and Manchester City start as the top favorites for the title, based on their history and present form. The Brazilians earned their spot by overcoming Boca 2-1 in the Copa Libertadores final just over a month ago. If the Cariocas secure the title, they will become the fourth Brazilian team to be crowned champions, following the double of Corinthians and the titles of Inter and Sao Paulo.

Meanwhile, Manchester City earned their spot by overcoming Inter 1-0 in the Champions League final in June, with a goal from Rodri Hernández. They will also aim to be the fourth team from their country to win the title and equal their arch-rival, Manchester United, with a title as the best team in the world. The other English teams to have achieved this were Chelsea and Liverpool in 2021 and 2019, respectively.

Regarding the 7-team tournament, those from UEFA (City) and CONMEBOL (Fluminense) start directly in the semifinals.

The event will kick off with the preliminary match between Al-Ittihad (champion of Saudi Arabia, the host country) and Auckland City (champion of Oceania) from 9:00 PM (local time). The winner of this match will secure a spot in the quarterfinals, where Al-Ahly (champion of Africa) awaits. The other semifinalist will emerge from the clash between Urawa Red Diamonds (champion of Asia) and León (champion of Concacaf).

After the preliminary round between Al-Ittihad and Auckland City, there will be a second phase, where two matches will determine the respective opponents in the semifinals for Fluminense and Manchester City, who are seeded and can only meet in a hypothetical final. All matches will have extra time in case of a tie in regular time, and if necessary, the match will be decided in a penalty shootout.

This is how the tournament will unfold:

First round

Al-Ittihad FC vs. Auckland City (December 12, 9:00 PM)

Second round

Club León vs. Urawa Reds (December 15, 5:30 PM)

Al Ahly FC vs. Al-Ittihad FC/Auckland City (December 15, 9:00 PM)

Semifinals

Fluminense vs. Al Ahly/Al-Ittihad FC/Auckland City (December 18, 9:00 PM)

Club León/Urawa Reds vs. Manchester City (December 19, 9:00 PM)

Third-place play-off

Friday, December 22, at 5:30 PM

Final

Friday, December 22, at 9:00 PM

Teams participating

Manchester City (England) - Winner of the UEFA Champions League

Fluminense (Brazil) - Winner of the Copa CONMEBOL Libertadores

Club León (Mexico) - Winner of the CONCACAF Champions Cup

Urawa Red Diamonds (Japan) - Winner of the AFC Champions League

Al-Ahly (Egypt) - Winner of the CAF Champions League

Auckland City (New Zealand) - Winner of the OFC Champions League

Al-Ittihad FC (Saudi Arabia) - Host and winner of the Saudi Professional League

Honors:

The team that has won the FIFA Club World Cup the most times in its current format is Real Madrid, with five titles, followed by Barcelona with three. Corinthians and Bayern Munich, on the other hand, celebrated twice. The list is completed by Liverpool, Chelsea, Sao Paulo, Inter from Brazil, Milan, Inter Milan, and Manchester United.