The 2018 FIFA Club World Cup (officially known as the FIFA Club World Cup UAE 2018 presented by Alibaba Cloud for sponsorship reasons) was the 15th 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 hosted by the United Arab Emirates from 12 to 22 December 2018.
| FIFA Club World Cup UAE 2018 presented by Alibaba Cloud كأس العالم للأندية لكرة القدم الإمارات العربية المتحدة 2018 | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | United Arab Emirates |
| Dates | 12–22 December |
| Teams | 7 (from 6 confederations) |
| Venue | 2 (in 2 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Real Madrid (4th title) |
| Runners-up | Al Ain |
| Third place | River Plate |
| Fourth place | Kashima Antlers |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 8 |
| Goals scored | 33 (4.13 per match) |
| Attendance | 152,675 (19,084 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Gareth Bale Rafael Santos Borré (3 goals each) |
| Best player | Gareth Bale |
| Fair play award | Real Madrid |
← 2017 2019 → | |
Real Madrid were the defending champions, having won the previous two editions, and qualified for the 2018 edition as well. They successfully defended their title (their third consecutive) after defeating Al Ain 4–1 in the final. With the win, they broke the tie with their club rivals Barcelona to become the outright record winners of the competition.
Host bids
The application process for the 2017–2018 as well as the 2015–2016 editions, i.e. two hosts, each hosting two years, began in February 2014. Member associations interested in hosting must submit a declaration of interest by 30 March 2014, and provide the complete set of bidding documents by 25 August 2014. The FIFA Executive Committee was to select the hosts at their meeting in Morocco in December 2014, but the final decision was delayed until the FIFA Executive Committee meetings on 19–20 March 2015.
The following countries expressed an interest in bidding to host the tournament:
- Brazil
- Japan
- United Arab Emirates
The FIFA Executive Committee officially confirmed the United Arab Emirates as hosts of the 2017 and 2018 tournaments on 20 March 2015 during their meeting in Zürich, Switzerland.
Qualified teams
The following teams qualified for the tournament.
| Team | Confederation | Qualification | Qualified date | Participation (bold indicates winners) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entering in the semi-finals | ||||
| River Plate | CONMEBOL | Winners of the 2018 Copa Libertadores | 9 December 2018 | 2nd (Previous: 2015) |
| Real MadridTH | UEFA | Winners of the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League | 26 May 2018 | 5th (Previous: 2000, 2014, 2016, 2017) |
| Entering in the second round | ||||
| Kashima Antlers | AFC | Winners of the 2018 AFC Champions League | 10 November 2018 | 2nd (Previous: 2016) |
| Espérance de Tunis | CAF | Winners of the 2018 CAF Champions League | 9 November 2018 | 2nd (Previous: 2011) |
| Guadalajara | CONCACAF | Winners of the 2018 CONCACAF Champions League | 25 April 2018 | Debut |
| Entering in the first round | ||||
| Team Wellington | OFC | Winners of the 2018 OFC Champions League | 20 May 2018 | Debut |
| Al Ain | AFC (host) | Winners of the 2017–18 UAE Pro League | 14 May 2018 | Debut |
- Notes
- The second leg of the Copa Libertadores Finals, originally scheduled on 24 November 2018, was postponed to 9 December 2018 due to an attack on the Boca Juniors team bus when several players were injured.
- Al Ain won the 2017–18 UAE Pro League on 21 April 2018. Their participation in the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup was officially confirmed on 14 May 2018 after Al-Jazira became the last team from the United Arab Emirates other than Al Ain to be eliminated from the 2018 AFC Champions League. Al Ain themselves were eliminated from the 2018 AFC Champions League on 15 May 2018, thereby confirming them entering the first round.
Venues
The two venues were the Zayed Sports City Stadium in Abu Dhabi and the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain.
| Al Ain | Abu Dhabi | Abu Dhabi Al Ain class=notpageimage| Location of the host cities of the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup. |
|---|---|---|
| Hazza bin Zayed Stadium | Zayed Sports City Stadium | |
| 24°14′44.14″N 55°42′59.7″E / 24.2455944°N 55.716583°E | 24°24′57.92″N 54°27′12.93″E / 24.4160889°N 54.4535917°E | |
| Capacity: 22,717 | Capacity: 43,000 | |
Match officials
A total of six referees, twelve assistant referees, and six video assistant referees were appointed for the tournament. FIFA announced on 22 November 2018 that the trio of referees and assistant referees from CAF were changed.
Notes
- The officiating team from CAF replaced the original trio of Mehdi Abid Charef, Abdelhak Etchiali (both from Algeria) and Anouar Hmila (from Tunisia).
Squads
Each team had to name a 23-man squad (three of whom must be goalkeepers). Injury replacements were allowed until 24 hours before the team's first match.
Matches
The draw of the tournament was held on 4 September 2018, 10:00 CEST (UTC+2), at the FIFA Headquarters in Zürich, to decide the matchups of the second round (between the first round winner and teams from AFC, CAF, and CONCACAF), and the opponents of the two second round winners in the semi-finals (teams from CONMEBOL and UEFA). At the time of the draw, the identity of the teams from AFC, CAF and CONMEBOL were not known.
If a match was tied after normal playing time:
- For elimination matches, extra time would be played. If still tied after extra time, a penalty shoot-out would be held to determine the winner.
- For the matches for fifth place and third place, no extra time would be played, and a penalty shoot-out would be held to determine the winner.
| First round | Second round | Semi-finals | Final | |||||||||||
| 15 December – Al Ain | ||||||||||||||
| Kashima Antlers | 3 | 19 December – Abu Dhabi | ||||||||||||
| Guadalajara | 2 | Kashima Antlers | 1 | |||||||||||
| Real Madrid | 3 | 22 December – Abu Dhabi | ||||||||||||
| Real Madrid | 4 | |||||||||||||
| 18 December – Al Ain | Al Ain | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 15 December – Al Ain | River Plate | 2 (4) | ||||||||||||
| 12 December – Al Ain | Espérance de Tunis | 0 | Al Ain (p) | 2 (5) | ||||||||||
| Al Ain (p) | 3 (4) | Al Ain | 3 | |||||||||||
| Team Wellington | 3 (3) | Match for fifth place | Match for third place | |||||||||||
| 18 December – Al Ain | 22 December – Abu Dhabi | |||||||||||||
| Guadalajara | 1 (5) | Kashima Antlers | 0 | |||||||||||
| Espérance de Tunis (p) | 1 (6) | River Plate | 4 | |||||||||||
All times are local, GST (UTC+4).
First round
| Al Ain | 3–3 (a.e.t.) | Team Wellington |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| Penalties | ||
| 4–3 |
|
Second round
| Kashima Antlers | 3–2 | Guadalajara |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
Match for fifth place
| Guadalajara | 1–1 | Espérance de Tunis |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| Penalties | ||
| 5–6 |
|
Semi-finals
| River Plate | 2–2 (a.e.t.) | Al Ain |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| Penalties | ||
| 4–5 |
|
| Kashima Antlers | 1–3 | Real Madrid |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
Match for third place
| Kashima Antlers | 0–4 | River Plate |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
Final
Goalscorers
1 own goal
- Léo Silva (Kashima Antlers, against Guadalajara)
- Yahya Nader (Al Ain, against Real Madrid)
Awards
The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament.
| Adidas Golden Ball Alibaba Cloud Award | Adidas Silver Ball | Adidas Bronze Ball |
|---|---|---|
| Gareth Bale (Real Madrid) | Caio (Al Ain) | Rafael Santos Borré (River Plate) |
| FIFA Fair Play Award | ||
| Real Madrid | ||
FIFA also named a man of the match for the best player in each game at the tournament.
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