Sports

Madrid could face Sounders in Club World Cup semifinals

NC Desk January 13, 2023

7:19 AM ET

Alex Kirkland
Rodrigo Faez

Real Madrid will face Seattle Sounders, Auckland City or Al Ahly in the FIFA Club World Cup semifinals after the draw for the competition took place on Friday.

The tournament, which features a total of seven teams, will take place in Morocco starting on Feb. 1, with the final on Saturday, Feb. 11.

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Madrid — as the 2022 UEFA Champions League winners — and Brazil’s Flamengo, winners of the 2022 CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores, qualify directly for the semifinals.

Egypt’s Al Ahly, who were runners-up in the 2022 CAF Champions League, will play 2022 OFC Champions League winners Auckland City FC in the tournament’s opening match.

The winner of that game will advance to play Seattle Sounders — 2022 CONCACAF Champions and the first U.S. team to take part in the Club World Cup — in match two, with the winners going on to face Madrid in the semifinals on Feb. 8.

On the other side of the draw, Morocco’s Wydad, who won the 2022 CAF Champions League, will play Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal, winners of the 2021 AFC Champions League.

The victors will play Flamengo in the other semifinal on Feb. 7.

Last year’s Club World Cup, held in Abu Dhabi in February 2022, saw Chelsea beat Brazil’s Palmeiras in the final, 2-1 after extra time.

Madrid are the most successful team in the competition’s history, having won the tournament four times in the last decade in 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018.

The LaLiga champions beat Liverpool 1-0 in the Champions League final on May 28, 2022 to qualify for this year’s edition.

Auckland City are the team which has featured in most editions of the tournament, while Al Ahly are the club which has taken part in the most games, with 18 matches in seven appearances at the competition.