2023 FIFA Club World Cup

The 2023 FIFA Club World Cup (officially known as the FIFA Club World Cup Saudi Arabia 2023 presented by Visit Saudi for sponsorship reasons) was the 20th edition of the FIFA Club World Cup, a FIFA-organised international club football tournament between the winners of the six continental confederations, as well as the host nation's league champions. The tournament was played in Saudi Arabia from 12 to 22 December 2023.[1] It was the last seven-team Club World Cup before the tournament is expanded to 32 teams in 2025.[2]

2023 FIFA Club World Cup
FIFA Club World Cup Saudi Arabia 2023 presented by Visit Saudi
كأس العالم للأندية لكرة القدم
السعودية 2023
Tournament details
Host countrySaudi Arabia
Dates12–22 December
Teams7 (from 6 confederations)
Venue(s)2 (in 1 host city)
Final positions
ChampionsEngland Manchester City (1st title)
Runners-upBrazil Fluminense
Third placeEgypt Al Ahly
Fourth placeJapan Urawa Red Diamonds
Tournament statistics
Matches played7
Goals scored23 (3.29 per match)
Attendance246,888 (35,270 per match)
Top scorer(s)Julián Álvarez (Manchester City)
Karim Benzema (Al-Ittihad)
Ali Maâloul (Al Ahly)
2 goals each
Best player(s)Rodri (Manchester City)
Fair play awardSaudi Arabia Al-Ittihad
2022

Real Madrid were the defending champions, but were not able to defend their title after being eliminated in the semi-finals of the 2022–23 UEFA Champions League by eventual winners Manchester City.[3] The English team won the edition by beating the Brazilian team Fluminense 4–0 in the final, claiming its first title.

Host appointment

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Although an expanded, quadrennial Club World Cup is planned for 2025,[4] FIFA confirmed on 13 February 2023 that a 2023 tournament would be held using the previous seven-team format.[5] Earlier that month, UOL Esporte reported that Saudi Arabia were interested in hosting the 2023 and 2024 Club World Cup tournaments.[6] On 14 February, the FIFA Council confirmed Saudi Arabia as the host for the 2023 tournament.[7]

Qualified teams

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Location of the teams participating in the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup
Team Confederation Qualification Qualified date Participation
Entering in the semi-finals
  Fluminense CONMEBOL Winners of the 2023 Copa Libertadores 4 November 2023 1st
  Manchester City UEFA Winners of the 2022–23 UEFA Champions League 10 June 2023 1st
Entering in the second round
  Urawa Red Diamonds AFC Winners of the 2022 AFC Champions League 26 February 2023[note 1] 3rd (Previous: 2007, 2017)
  Al Ahly CAF Winners of the 2022–23 CAF Champions League 11 June 2023 9th (Previous: 2005, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2020, 2021, 2022)
  León CONCACAF Winners of the 2023 CONCACAF Champions League 4 June 2023 1st
Entering in the first round
  Auckland City OFC Winners of the 2023 OFC Champions League 27 May 2023 11th (Previous: 2006, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2022)
  Al-Ittihad AFC (host) Winners of the 2022–23 Saudi Pro League 27 May 2023 2nd (Previous: 2005)

Notes

  1. ^ Urawa Red Diamonds qualified on 26 February 2023 when Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal were confirmed as their opponents in the final. If a team from the host country had won the AFC Champions League, the runners-up of the AFC Champions League would have been invited in place of the host league winners. Urawa Red Diamonds won the AFC Champions League on 6 May 2023, confirming their second round entrance.

Venues

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On 26 June 2023, FIFA and the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) confirmed that all matches in the tournament would be played in the city of Jeddah in two stadiums.[8]

Location of the host city of the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup.
Jeddah
King Abdullah Sports City
Stadium
Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal
Stadium
Capacity: 62,345 Capacity: 27,000
   

Match officials

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On 3 November 2023, FIFA announced that five referees, ten assistant referees and eight video assistant referees were appointed for the tournament.[9][10]

Confederation Referees Assistant referees Video assistant referees
AFC Mohammed Al Hoish (Saudi Arabia)
Khamis Al-Marri (Qatar)
CAF Jean-Jacques Ndala (DR Congo)
Adil Zourak (Morocco)
CONCACAF Tori Penso (United States)
Tatiana Guzmán (Nicaragua)
CONMEBOL Jesús Valenzuela (Venezuela)
UEFA Szymon Marciniak (Poland)

One support referee was also named for the tournament.

Confederation Support referee
OFC Campbell-Kirk Kawana-Waugh (New Zealand)

Squads

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Each team had to name a 23-man squad (three of whom had to be goalkeepers). Injury replacements were allowed until 24 hours before the team's first match.[11]

Matches

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If a match was tied after normal playing time:[11]

  • For elimination matches, extra time was played. If still tied after extra time, a penalty shoot-out was held to determine the winner.
  • For the match for third place, no extra time would be played, and a penalty shoot-out would be held to determine the winner.

All times are local, AST (UTC+3).[12]

First round

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Al-Ittihad  3–0  Auckland City
Report

Second round

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León  0–1  Urawa Red Diamonds
Report

Al Ahly  3–1  Al-Ittihad
Report

Semi-finals

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Fluminense  2–0  Al Ahly
Report

Urawa Red Diamonds  0–3  Manchester City
Report

Match for third place

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Urawa Red Diamonds  2–4  Al Ahly
Report

Final

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Manchester City  4–0  Fluminense
Report


Goalscorers

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Rank Player Team Goals
1   Julián Álvarez   Manchester City 2
  Karim Benzema   Al-Ittihad
  Ali Maâloul   Al Ahly
4   Jhon Arias   Fluminense 1
  Emam Ashour   Al Ahly
  Bernardo Silva   Manchester City
  Hussein El Shahat   Al Ahly
  Phil Foden   Manchester City
  Yasser Ibrahim   Al Ahly
  José Kanté   Urawa Red Diamonds
  N'Golo Kanté   Al-Ittihad
  John Kennedy   Fluminense
  Mateo Kovačić   Manchester City
  Romarinho   Al-Ittihad
  Alex Schalk   Urawa Red Diamonds
  Alexander Scholz   Urawa Red Diamonds
  Percy Tau   Al Ahly

1 own goal

Awards

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The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament. Rodri of Manchester City won the Golden Ball award.[13]

Golden Ball Silver Ball Bronze Ball
  Rodri
(Manchester City)
  Kyle Walker
(Manchester City)
  Jhon Arias
(Fluminense)
FIFA Fair Play Award
  Al-Ittihad

FIFA also named a man of the match for the best player in each game at the tournament.

Man of the Match
Match Man of the match Club Opponent Ref.
1   N'Golo Kanté   Al-Ittihad   Auckland City [14]
2   Marwan Attia   Al Ahly   Al-Ittihad [15]
3   Yoshio Koizumi   Urawa Red Diamonds   León [16]
4   André   Fluminense   Al Ahly [17]
5   Rodri   Manchester City   Urawa Red Diamonds [18]
6   Emam Ashour   Al Ahly   Urawa Red Diamonds [19]
7   Julián Álvarez   Manchester City   Fluminense [20]

Sponsorship

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Presenting Partner

FIFA Partners

Tournament Supporters

  • Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Group
  • Jahez
  • Jeddah Central
  • Jeddah Historic District
  • Neom

References

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  1. ^ "Saudi Arabia to host Club World Cup in December". FIFA. 14 February 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  2. ^ "FIFA Council approves international match calendars". FIFA. 14 March 2023. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  3. ^ "Vinicius and Valverde dazzle as five-star Madrid conquer". FIFA. 11 February 2023. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  4. ^ "FIFA World Cup 2022 praised for its "unique cohesive power"". FIFA. 16 December 2022. Archived from the original on 16 December 2022. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  5. ^ "Agenda of meeting no. 22 of the FIFA Council" (PDF). FIFA. 13 February 2023. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  6. ^ Rizzo, Marcel (10 February 2023). "Mundial de Clubes: Arábia Saudita cotada para receber edições 2023 e 2024" [Club World Cup: Saudi Arabia tipped to host 2023 and 2024 editions]. Universo Online (in Portuguese). Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  7. ^ "FIFA Council highlights record breaking revenue in football". FIFA. 14 February 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  8. ^ "FIFA Club World Cup Saudi Arabia 2023 host city confirmed". FIFA. 26 June 2023.
  9. ^ "Match officials appointed for FIFA Club World Cup Saudi Arabia 2023". FIFA. 3 November 2023. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  10. ^ "FIFA Club World Cup 2023 – List of Appointed FIFA Match Officials" (PDF). FIFA. 3 November 2023. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  11. ^ a b "Regulations for the FIFA Club World Cup Saudi Arabia 2023" (PDF). FIFA. June 2023. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  12. ^ "Match Schedule: FIFA Club World Cup Saudi Arabia 2023" (PDF). FIFA. 6 November 2023. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  13. ^ "Rodri wins adidas Golden Ball as City reign". FIFA. 22 December 2023. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  14. ^ "Stylish Ittihad set up Ahly showdown". FIFA. 12 December 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  15. ^ "Al Ahly stun Al Ittihad to set up Flu showdown". FIFA. 15 December 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  16. ^ "Schalk strikes as Reds set up City semi". FIFA. 15 December 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  17. ^ "Fluminense make final after spirited Al Ahly win". FIFA. 18 December 2023. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  18. ^ "City cruise to set up Fluminense final". FIFA. 19 December 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  19. ^ "Al Ahly claim bronze after six-goal thriller". FIFA. 22 December 2023. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  20. ^ "Clinical City clinch maiden Club World Cup title". FIFA. 22 December 2023. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
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