It is a busy week for Liverpool with their Under 23 team scheduled to represent the club in the Carabao Cup quarterfinal away to Aston Villa on Tuesday night, as the first team squad have travelled to Doha in Qatar to participate in the clubs first FIFA Club World Cup since 2005.
That time, Liverpool lost in the final to Brazilian opponents in Sao Paulo, and they could face a similar test this year with another Brazilian side, Flamengo, likely to be their biggest rivals to the crown. It is a trophy that Liverpool have never won and Jurgen Klopp has taken a full-strength squad over to Qatar with him in a concerted effort to lift the trophy in the midst of what has been an extraordinary season in the Premier League so far.
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Let’s now take a look at hoe the Club World Cup has developed over the years into its current form.
Club World Cup – History
The first FIFA Club World Cup was held back in 2000, although it suffered an ignominious start with the first tournament being contested in Brazil and then the next four tournaments all cancelled or not played. It was not until 2005 that the tournament was resurrected in Japan and since then, it has remained a staple on the fixture list ever since.
The tournament has since taken over the mantle of the former Intercontinental Cup, a match between the Copa Libertadores winners in South America and the Champions League winners in Europe, that was contested from the 1960s until 2004. The newly designed Club World Cup taking over from that tournament a year later.
Let’s take a look now at the teams that have picked up the honours in the tournament’s relatively short history.
Previous Winners
- 2000 – Corinthians 0-0 Vasco De Gama (Corinthians won on penalties)
- 2005 – Sao Paulo 1-0 Liverpool
- 2006 – Internacional 1-0 Barcelona
- 2007 – Milan 4-2 Boca Juniors
- 2008 – Manchester United 1-0 LDU Quito
- 2009 – Barcelona 2-1 Estudiantes
- 2010 – Inter 3-0 TP Mazembe
- 2011 – Barcelona 4-0 Santos
- 2012 – Corinthians 1-0 Chelsea
- 2013 – Bayern Munich 2-0 Raja Casablanca
- 2014 – Real Madrid 2-0 San Lorenzo
- 2015 – Barcelona 3-0 River Plate
- 2016 – Real Madrid 4-2 Kashima Antlers
- 2017 – Real Madrid 1-0 Gremio
- 2018 – Real Madrid 4-1 Al Ain
Most Wins – 4 Wins – Real Madrid, 3 Wins – Barcelona, 2 Wins – Corinthians.
Club World Cup 2019 – Preview
The 2019 FIFA Club World Cup saw seven teams enter the tournament at different stages of the competition based on their seeding. The European and South American champions enter the tournament latest, in the semifinal stage, with the other five teams playing through First and Second Round games to claim one of the two available spots in the semifinals.
Seeded to the Semi Finals
- Flamengo (CONMEBOL)
- Liverpool (UEFA)
Seeded to the Second Round
- Al-Hilal (AFC)
- Esperance de Tunis (CAF)
- Monterrey (CONCACAF)
First Round Seeds
- Hienghene Sport (OFC)
- Al-Sadd (AFC – Host Nation Representatives)
We have already played both the first and second round of matches with the following results, giving us the following semi-final match ups.
First Round
- Al- Sadd 3-1 Hienghene Sport (after extra time)
Second Round
- Monterrey 3-2 Al-Sadd
- Al Hilal 1-0 Esperance de Tunis
Semi Finals Fixtures
- Flamengo v Al Hilal (Tue)
- Monterrey v Liverpool (Wed)
Club World Cup 2019 – Latest Betting & Tips
Flamengo v Al Hilal
After securing a dramatic late win in the Copa Libertadores, coming from 1-0 behind with just a couple of minutes to go to beat River Plate 2-1, Flamengo should be very confident of getting the better of an Al Hilal side who can count on ex-Italian international Sebastian Giovinco and former Norwich striker Bafetimbi Gomis in their ranks.
The Brazilian side is packed with attacking flair however and while Al Hilal are well organised, they are not used to playing against opponents of such calibre and as such, I think the Brazillian team will go through by a 2-0 scoreline.
Monterrey v Liverpool
The last time Liverpool competed in this tournament, they faced CONCACAF opponents at this stage of the tournament in Deportivo Saprissa, this time they will face an opponent from the same FIFA region once again, this time in the shape of Mexican side Monterrey.
The Mexicans are a decent team and I think the third best team in the tournament by a comfortable margin, so this won’t be easy for Liverpool. That said, the Reds have such quality in attack and have such mental strength that I feel they have the ability to go into this game and get a result that they need to progress through to the final. I think it will be tight, but I am backing Liverpool to win perhaps by a single goal to nil.
Top Tip – Outright Winner – Liverpool – 4/11 at bet365
If both predictions for the semifinals are correct then it will be a re-run of the 1981 Intercontinental Cup Final which Flamengo won 3-0 over Liverpool in Tokyo, thanks chiefly to the brilliance of Brazil star Zico. However, this time around and despite Liverpool’s poor record against South American sides, I think it could be a different outcome.
Both sides have excellent attacking players and play a similar 4-3-3 formation but I think the extra quality in attack and especially in defence is with Liverpool, add to that a very combative midfield with plenty of options and I can see the Reds having just enough to claim the win and with it their first ever FIFA Club World Cup title.
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