The Mexican Club León will face the Japanese Urawa Red Diamonds in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Club World Cup and, if they progress, they will face English Manchester City in the semifinals, according to the draw held this Tuesday in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia).
The CONCACAF champion will have a tremendous debut in the highest club competition. First they will face the winner of the Asian Champions League, the Urawa Red Diamonds, a very competitive team that in this tournament, for example, came third in 2007.
The other quarterfinal match of the Club World Cup, which will take place in Saudi Arabia between December 12 and 22, will face the winner of the first round match between the host and the winner of the last Arab League, Al Ittihad, and New Zealand's Auckland City, and Egyptian side Al Ahly, winner of the African Champions League, who have reached the semi-finals in the last three editions.
Whoever emerges unscathed from the duel between León and Urawa will meet in the second semifinal against the powerful Manchester City led by the Spanish Pep Guardiola, winner of the European Champions League, who makes his debut in this competition after winning his first continental title.
The team that progresses on the other side of the draw will face the winner of the Copa Libertadores, which will be resolved on November 4 at the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro. The semifinals still have to be played: Palmeiras-Boca Juniors and Internacional-Fluminense.
The inaugural match between Al Ittihad and Auckland City will be played on December 12, the quarterfinal duels will take place on the 15th, the 18th will be the turn for the semifinal in which the winner of the Copa Libertadores participates and the 19th for the Manchester City and León or Urawa Reds Diamonds. The clashes for third and fourth place will be on 22.
The winner will take over from Real Madrid, the last champion, who defeated Saudi Al Hilal 5-3 in the final. The Spanish team has the record for titles with five, two more than Barcelona.
Parties:
- First round (December 12):
Match 1: Al Ittihad (KSA)-Auckland City (NZL)
- Second round (December 15):
Partido 2: Al Ahly (ONE)-Ganador 1
Match 3: Club León (MEX)-Urawa Red Diamonds (JPN)
- Semifinals:
December 18: Winner Copa Libertadores-Winner 2
December 19: Winner 3-Manchester City
- Third and fourth place and final: December 22
