2022 Club World Cup
Which teams are in the 2022 Club World Cup?
Seven teams will fight it out to be crowned world champions in this year’s edition. A new name will be engraved onto the trophy for the first time since 2010.
If there is one thing that can be said with certainty about this year's Club World Cup, it is that a new name will be engraved onto the trophy - the first time that has happened since Inter Milan were crowned world champions in 2010.
None of the seven clubs taking part in the 2022 edition have ever won the tournament - Chelsea have come the closest, losing the 2012 final by the minimum to Corinthians while Monterrey and Al-Ahly have finished in third place a couple of times each in previous years. Tahiti’s AS Pirae are taking part for the first time - they were awarded Auckland City’s place at the tournament after the New Zealanders withdrew in December to comply with the country’s Managed Isolation and Quarantine (MIQ) restrictions.
Pirae’s Club World Cup experience however was short and sweet - they were beaten 4-1 by Al Jazira in the opening round on Thursday. The UAE Pro League champions, who finished fourth in their maiden appearance in 2017, advance to the second round where AFC Champions League holders Al Hilal await.
Egypt’s Al-Ahly and Mexico’s Monterrey get the second round underway on Saturday at Al Nahyan stadium. The winners of those matches will face one of the two teams who enter at the semi-final stage - Chelsea and Palmerias. Abel Ferreira’s Palmeiras finished last year’s edition in fourth place and will be looking to become the first Brazilian side to clinch the Club World Cup in a decade - Corinthians were the last to lift the trophy, curiously, after beating Chelsea in the 2012 final. So there is a real possibility of this year’s final being another English-Brazilian affair - or who knows, maybe this year we will see the first club outside of UEFA and CONMEBOL to be crowned world champions.
2022 Club World Cup participating teams
AS Pirae (Tahiti)
Al Jazira (United Arab Emirates)
Al-Ahly (Egypt)
Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia)
Monterrey (Mexico)
Chelsea (England)
Palmerias (Brazil)
All games will be played at either Al Nahyan stadium or Mohammad Bin Zayed stadium in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The final takes place on Saturday 12 February at 11:30am ET / 8:30am PT.