Auckland City FC To Face Saudi Champions As FIFA Club World Cup Draw Is Finalised

(Photo by Yasser Bakhsh - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)

OFC champions Auckland City FC will meet Al Ittihad FC at the FIFA Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia in December. The official draw took place in Jeddah overnight NZT.
The winner of the first round encounter will meet African champions Al Ahly FC and the reward for winning will be a semi-final against the yet to be determined Copa Libertadores (CONMEBOL) champions.

The Saudi Arabian side has an array of Superstars including French striker Karim Benzema, French defensive midfielder N’Golo Kante and former Liverpool star Fabinho.
The other side of the draw features AFC champions Urawa Reds from Japan against CONCACAF champs Club Leon from Mexico with the winner to face UEFA champions Manchester City in the semi-finals.

Auckland City qualified for the FIFA Club World Cup in dramatic circumstances at the OFC Champions League tournament held in Vanuatu in May. After topping its pool, City scrambled an injury time equaliser against Vanuatu’s Ifira Blackbird in the semi-finals, eventually winning on penalties before securing an extra time win over Fiji’s Suva FC in the final.

This is the 20th edition of the FIFA Club World Cup, and the first time the tournament will be hosted by Saudi Arabia. It will take place between 12 and 22 December 2023, with Jeddah staging all of the matches.
Draw results and fixtures (local time)
First round (Match 1)
Al Ittihad FC v Auckland City FC
12 December, 21:00
Second round (Matches 2 & 3)
Al Ahly FC v Winner of M1
15 December, 21:00 
Club León v Urawa Reds
15 December, 17:30 
Semi-finals (Matches 4 & 5)
CONMEBOL representative v Winner of M2
18 December, 21:00
Winner of M3 v Manchester City FC
19 December, 21:00
Play-off for third place & final (Matches 6 & 7)
Third place
22 December, 17:30
Final
22 December, 21:00
FIFA Club World Cup Saudi Arabia 2023™ participants

• AFC Champions League 2022 winners: Urawa Reds, Japan
• CAF Champions League 2022/2023 winners: Al Ahly FC, Egypt
• Concacaf Champions League 2023 winners: Club León, Mexico
• CONMEBOL Libertadores 2023 winners: TBD
• OFC Champions League 2023 winners: Auckland City FC, New Zealand
• UEFA Champions League 2022/2023 winners: Manchester City FC, England
• Host (latest winner of organising association's league): Al Ittihad FC, Saudi Arabia

Previous Club World Cup champions

• 2000: Corinthians
• 2005: Sao Paulo
• 2006: Internacional
• 2007: AC Milan
• 2008: Manchester United
• 2009: Barcelona
• 2010: Inter Milan
• 2011: Barcelona
• 2012: Corinthians
• 2013: Bayern Munich
• 2014: Real Madrid
• 2015: Barcelona
• 2016: Real Madrid
• 2017: Real Madrid
• 2018: Real Madrid
• 2019: Liverpool
• 2020: Bayern Munich
• 2021: Chelsea
• 2022: Real Madrid

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