Chelsea set to face either Al-Hilal, Auckland City, or Al Jazira in the semi-final of the FIFA Club World Cup
According to the Daily Mail, Chelsea are set to face either Al-Hilal, Auckland City, or Al Jazira in the semi-final of the FIFA Club World Cup.
The Blues have been imperious in the last 10 months, gobbling every European trophy on their way. Their victory against Villarreal in the UEFA Super Cup in August sealed their spot in the FIFA Club World Cup.
However, the tournament is not going to be held in December this time around. The United Arab Emirates is set to host the event between the 3rd-12th of February 2022. The London club qualified directly to the semi-final and found out their potential opponents through the draw held on Monday.
Chelsea shall face hots Al Hilal or the winner between Auckland City and Al Jazira.
Worthy opponents
Although most of these teams are not the most feared names in the world, they are not short on quality or silverware. Al Jazira qualified for the competition as they are the top-flight champions of the host nation.
Oceania Football Confederation nominated Auckland City after their own Champions League was cancelled due to the coronavirus. Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal enters the 2nd round of the competition after winning the 2021 AFC tournament.
If the Blues win against either side in the semi-final, we would be facing either Monterrey, Al Ahly, or Palmeiras, with the latter already in the other semi-final, after winning the Copa Libertadores on the weekend.
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Thomas Tuchel would be keen on taking the competition seriously, as we lost in the final in 2012 to Corinthians. However, he might take solace from the fact that the European Champions have lifted the title in each of the last eight years. Thus, while it is not a competition to take lightly, Chelsea will like their chances of adding the Club World Cup to their trophy cabinet.
It is going to be a tough task managing the squad for this tournament. No incident other than Liverpool fielding two different squads within 24 hours back in December 2019 to play in the Club World Cup can attest to that claim. Hopefully, it doesn’t come to that for us.
But regardless, we must make use of our squad during this tournament. There will be a January transfer window that will conclude before this event begins and we must make sure that we attain enough depth at the end of it if we were to offload players permanently or on loan deals.
