Real Madrid will be seeking to keep alive their chances of a unique quadruple title haul at the Club World Cup in Japan, which starts today with the final on Dec. 18.
Madrid are trying to become the first team to win the Champions League, La Liga, Copa del Rey and the Club World Cup in the same season. They lead the Spanish league, are through to the knockout stage of the Champions League and are still alive in the Copa del Rey.
The tournament begins in Yokohama with newly crowned J-League champions Kashima Antlers facing Oceania champions Auckland City for a chance to advance to the second round.
Photo: AP
Zinedine Zidane’s Madrid side have not been defeated since April, by VfL Wolfsburg in the quarter-finals of last season’s Champions League. They return to the competition with 13 of the players who lifted the Club World Cup title in 2014, when they beat San Lorenzo de Almagro in the final.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos and Keylor Navas are all expected to participate, but the biggest absence will be Gareth Bale, who recently underwent ankle surgery.
European teams have been the most successful in the tournament, with eight titles, although it is not considered as high on the priority list for European clubs as it is for South American sides.
Madrid’s main rivals for the title will be Copa Libertadores champions Atletico Nacional, who travel to Japan with a strong team, but are dealing with the trauma of the recent tragedy that caused the cancelation of the Copa Sudamericana final.
Atletico were to play Brazilian club Chapecoense in the final, but the plane carrying the Brazilian team to the game crashed, killing almost all onboard.
The Colombian club features goalkeeper Franco Armani, who did not concede a single goal during the group stage of Copa Libertadores, as well as captain Alexis Henriquez and striker Miguel Borja.
Atletico open their campaign in the semi-finals on Wednesday next week in Osaka. Real Madrid’s first match is the following day in Yokohama.
Mexican side Club America, South Korea’s Jeonbuk Motors and African champions Mamelodi Sundowns will all be looking for a chance to pull off an upset.
Club America are making their third appearance in the tournament and feature 16 players with previous experience.
Paul Aguilar is recovering from a cruciate ligament tear in his right knee, but Moises Munoz and Oribe Peralta will be available.
Asian champions Jeonbuk Motors will pin their hopes on veteran striker Lee Dong-gook, and Brazilian duo Leonardo and Edu.
Kashima and Auckland City, who owe their place in the competition to their OFC Champions League triumph, will vie today for a chance to play Mamelodi Sundowns in Osaka on Sunday.
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