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Manchester City have learnt their 2023 World Club Cup opponents

By Gary Jordan

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - AUGUST 19: Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup trophys on display before the Premier League match between Manchester City and Newcastle United at Etihad Stadium on August 19, 2023 in Manchester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Neal Simpson/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - AUGUST 19: Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup trophys on display before the Premier League match between Manchester City and Newcastle United at Etihad Stadium on August 19, 2023 in Manchester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Neal Simpson/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images) /
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Manchester City, treble winners last season, are hunting down a new trophy this season. They are automatically entered into the FIFA World Club Cup competition with all games being played in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, during December.

World Club Cup

The draw for seven teams that are in the competition has been completed and City now know their path to being the best club in the world. A title that clubs from Europe have dominated over the last decade, having won each time during that period. The current champions are Real Madrid.

The host team, Al Ittihad – the team hunting down the service of Mohamed Salah – is the only one not an official champion of their region. The rest of the teams to compete in the tournament scheduled just before Christmas are:

Al Ahly (Egypt) – CAF Champions

Auckland City (New Zealand) – OFC Champions

Club Leon (Mexico) – CONCACAF Champions

Urawa Reds (Japan) – AFC Champions

Also, the winners of the Copa Libertadores will decide the South American champions. That tournament concludes on November 4 and will see one of Boca Juniors (Argentina), Palmeiras, Internacional, or Fluminese (all Brazil) advance.

Full draw has been made

Match 1 will see Al-Ittihad play Auckland City, with the winner going on to face Al-Alhy. Whoever comes out of that trio goes into the semi-final to play the Copa Libertadores champion.

This means Club Leon against Urawa Reds has the winner advance to play Manchester City in the other semi-final.

Past winners from the Premier League are Manchester United, who in 1999 beat Palmeiras 1-0 when the competition was known as the Intercontinental Cup. They won again in 2008 by beating LDU Quito from Ecuador by the same score. Then, in 2019, Liverpool also won 1-0 against Flamengo of Brazil, and then two years later, Chelsea beat Palmeiras 2-1. In 2025, the tournament will be expanded to a 32-team format and will be hosted in the United States, a year before they co-host the World Cup with Canada and Mexico.

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