FIFA Club World Cup draw summary: teams, games and bracket

FIFA Club World Cup draw 2022

Here you have it. A quick glance at how the seven teams can potential reach the final on 11 February, with Flamengo and Real Madrid joining in the fun at the semi-final stage.

I hope you enjoyed the draw and remember that we'll be bringing you live coverage of the big games when the action kicks off. Till then, have some good days!

And just like that, as if Keyser Söze himself, he's gone.

It really is incredible how something so short and simple can be made to be so long and complicated. I'm going to pull together my extensive notes and summarise the bracket.

And finally Real Madrid, in this for the sixth time.

They'll play the winners of Match 2 (Sounders vs Match 1 winners)

Flamengo are out next.

They go into the first semi-final which will be against the winners of Match 3 (Wiyad vs Al Hilal)

Next: Al Hilal (there couldn't have been anyone else but tension music nontheless) and they are Team B.

That sets them up against Wiyad.

First out: Seattle Sounders and they become Team A 

It's time to go...

African legend Nourredine Naybet steps up onto the stage to help with the draw and we're diving into mixed languages again. I'll try to keep up...

Basically, he's very proud.

Draw conductor Jaime Yarza joins the lads and says he's "very excited" to get this underway. C'mon then!

Mr Yarza is currently explaining who the seven teams are and how the bracket will form. If you've been reading my earlier posts you'll not need me to repeat that.

It's time for FIFA's Gianni Infantino to speak. We've got quite used this after Qatar...

He's "very proud and honoured" to be here. Big congratulations to the hosts, and for their performance at the World Cup.

"When the champions of the continents meet to create the champion of the planet, this is very special," he says, before congratulating the "best teams in the world" for making it here.

Clearly these are not the best teams in the world, but we get the point he's making.

In summary, Mr Lekjaa says some nice things about FIFA, the tournament, and is clearly excited (despite his calm tone and disposition) about Morocco hosting such a prestigious event, for the third time.

I think I heard him say 'kerching' in French?

The assorted suits in the audience give a brief applause to welcome Fiuzi Lekjaa of the Moroccan federation to the stage.

I've got my French dictionary out!

Host Samid Ghailan welcomes us to the draw and introduces the obligatory montage of some action of past tournaments.

Messi, Ronaldo, Firmino, Havertz... glorious teams lifting the trophy. That was nice.

OK, I think we're ready. The stage is literally set, and everyone is taking their seats at our Rabat venue.

Flag recognition

You may knock it for encouraging anonymous abuse at times, but I do think that Twitter has done an excellent job at promoting global awareness of flags.

Just look at this tweet from FIFA. I bet most of you can get them right (clues below if you're struggling!)

Draw imminent

It's almost time. If the plush FIFA breakfast plates have been cleared away in a timely fashion then we should be just a couple of minutes away from our live draw.

Expectation, based on previous similar events, is that this should be over rather quickly. That said, something that could take around a minute will be strung out for at least 15 to 20 with pleasantries and ball-kicking footage. Let's see...

All quiet on the social media front

I have to admit, checking out the social media accounts of the teams being represented in this draw and they're fairly quiet... or non-existent in some cases.

Maybe they're all just tooooo excited and so are leaving the communications to me. That'll be it.

Real Madrid's busy schedule

As well as finding out who'll they'll face in the semi-final here, Los Blancos are also into the final of the Spanish Super Cup on Sunday.

Just the small matter of El Clásico! 

Oh, and 10 days after the CWC final, it's Liverpool in the Champions League. No rest for the... 

Marcelo aka Mr Trophies

What have you achieved between the years of 18 and 34? Yeah, probably best we don't do too many comparisons with the likes of Marcelo...

Club World Cup: how our teams got here

As you now surely know, the winners of each domestic confederation’s highest profile competition (UEFA’s Champions League, CONMEBOL’s Copa Libertadores ...) get to participate in the Club World Cup with seven teams set to be involved.

Last May in Paris, Real Madrid secured their 14th European Cup/Champions League title with a 1-0 win over Liverpool at the Stade de France, earning the right to participate in the competition they won in 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018.

Rio de Janeiro giants Flamengo won the Copa Libertadores back in October in an all Brazilian final beating Atletico Paranaense and take their place at the CWC for the second time. And as I said in my previous post, CONCACAF Champions League holders Seattle Sounders are in after beating Liga MX side Pumas.

There will be massive home support for local side Wydad Casablanca who won the CAF Champions League under Walid Regragui last season (beating Al Ahly) before he left to manage the national team with the Egyptian side also being invited to take part with Wydad securing the place always reserved for the host nation.

Sounders make history

Did you know that the Seattle Sounders will become the first team from Major League Soccer to play in the Club World Cup? Stop it, no you didn't!

OK, let's check out why all our teams are here...

19th Club World Cup in February

The dates for your diary are the first 11 days of February (so it concludes in time for any Super Bowl fans not to be put out!).

Al Ahly and Auckland City will meet in the first round on 1 February, with the winners joining Al Hilal, Seattle Sounders and Wydad in the second round, today's draw determining who faces who.

Those two ties will then be fed into a neat bracket so that we know who goes on to meet Flamengo and Real Madrid in the semi-finals.

More about the CWC draw

Today's draw (a reminder that it's at 6am ET in the United States so hello to you early risers following the MLS team and others) is being held at the Mohammed VI Football Academy in Salé, Rabat.

African legend Nourredine Naybet will act as a Morocco 2022 draw assistant. Formerly a stylish centre-back, he began his career with a trophy-laden spell at Wydad before impressing in France, Portugal, Spain and England, most famously helping Deportivo win LaLiga and reach the UEFA Champions League semi-finals.

​​​​​​​Naybet also represented Morocco in two FIFA World Cups™ and won a record 115 caps.

Our hosts, Morocco

Do you like the banner at the top of this page? Well, that is the official emblem for the FIFA Club World Cup Morocco 2022. I wonder how much someone was paid to come up with that!

The competition has returned to the northern African country for the first time since 2014, and the emblem is said to 'capture the prestige of reaching the pinnacle of global club football'. It is inspired by the glittering trophy lifted annually by the best team in the world. That last point is often debatable.

Here's what else is being said about the design:

The solid golden pedestal symbolises the game’s unshakeable foundations, while the sleek, ink-blue curved bands reflect the trophy’s pillars, which depict the various continents represented at the tournament. The striking structure holds aloft a vivid golden football, epitomising the immortal glory that awaits the FIFA Club World Cup™ winners.

​​​​​​​Make up your own mind.

SOCCER

2022 FIFA Club World Cup draw: times, how to watch on TV, stream online

Obviously, I know you're going to hang about with me here but, on the off chance that you fancy getting another tab open to stream draw information into your insatiable footballing appetite, then here's our handy guide.

FIFA CWC: which teams are involved?

Our international flavour is brought to us in the form of:

Al Ahly (Egypt) guests

Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia) 2021 AFC Champions

Auckland City (New Zealand) OFC Champions

Flamengo (Brazil) CONMEBOL Libertadores Champions

Real Madrid (Spain) UEFA Champions League winners

Seattle Sounders (USA) CONCACAF CL winners

Wydad (Morocco) CAF Champions League winners

FIFA Club World Cup: some background

This tournament officially began in 2000, although the idea for a club world championship had existed since the 1950s.

The tournament is contested by the winners of each confederation's top club tournament, as well as the host nation's national league champion. The competition has been held every year since its inception, and it typically takes place in December, although has been pushed into the new year on occasion.

FIFA Club World Cup draw: welcome

Hello and may I wish you a very warm welcome to our live coverage of the draw for the 2022 FIFA Club World Cup, which is taking place this year early in 2023.

All the info you need I'll share ahead of the draw before we find out the potential route to glory for each of our teams. Let's go...