Grandiose stadiums, big world football stars, a tournament like the previous World Cup for national teams... Everything is there to make the Club World Cup, the first in history with 32 teams, spectacular, but it seems that interest is not very high.
Tonight (Saturday to Sunday, two hours after midnight) the Club World Cup starts - the honor of opening it will be given to Egyptian giants Al Ahli and host Inter Miami with Lionel Messi at the helm. It all starts right here in the city in Florida, and what might surprise viewers around the world could be the empty seats at the Hard Rock Stadium.
As reported by "Atletik", FIFA had to reduce ticket prices after it was announced last week that less than 65.000 tickets were sold for the opening match at the 20.000-seat stadium.
- It's not realistic to expect a stadium with such a large capacity to be full for a match between an MLS team and a team from Egypt, just because FIFA says it's an important match - writes "USA Today".
The first derby is played by the European champion
If the opening match between an MLS team and a club from Egypt doesn't attract attention, then the third match of the tournament should be interesting for everyone - Paris Saint-Germain, the team that has dominated Europe this season, plays against Atletico Madrid.
It will be the first big derby at the World Cup, played at the legendary Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena (which hosted the 1994 World Cup final between Brazil and Italy), and it will start at an ideal time for our continent - Sunday at 21 p.m.
And while there may be some players and coaches who are not looking forward to this tournament after a tough season, Luis Enrique is not one of them.
- We will play in a unique competition and we are very happy to be here. Playing in the World Cup is fantastic. Winning the Champions League was incredible, but now it is time for new victories - the coach of the European champions is clear.
Why aren't Barca and Liverpool there? Adžić represents Montenegro
Brazil will have the most representatives at the World Cup, four, because teams from that country have won the last four editions of the Libertadores Cup - Palmeiras, Flamengo, Fluminense and Botafogo.
When it comes to European clubs, the four most recent champions of the Old Continent - Chelsea, Manchester City and Real Madrid, who were the best two times - were invited. The other nine places from the European continent were filled according to the UEFA coefficient, with no more than two representatives from one country.
Therefore, two teams that shone in the just-concluded season will not be at the World Cup - Barcelona, which Atletico had a better coefficient than, and Liverpool, which was shut out by Chelsea and Manchester City.
Vasilije Adžić will also be part of the World Cup - Juventus took advantage of UEFA rules and took Montenegrin talent to the World Cup, instead of having the guy who recently made his debut for our A team lead the youth team at the historic Euro in Romania.
Adžić and Juve's first match is on Thursday at three o'clock our time against Al-Ain.
The World Cup will be played in 11 cities at 12 stadiums - Miami, East Rutherford (host of the semi-finals and final), Pasadena, Washington, Orlando (the only one with two stadiums), Charlotte, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Seattle, Nashville and Cincinnati.
PAIRS 1. CARS
Group A: Al-Ahli - Inter Miami (Sunday, 02.00:00.00h), Palmeiras - Porto (Monday, XNUMX:XNUMXh);
Group B: PSG - Atletico M (Sunday, 21pm), Botafogo - Seattle (Monday, 4.00am);
Group C: Bayern M - Auckland (Sunday, 18pm), Boka J - Benfica (Tuesday, 00.00am);
Group D: Flamengo - Esperanza (Tuesday, 3.00:21), Chelsea - Los Angeles (Monday, XNUMX:XNUMX).
Group E: River P - Urava (Tuesday, 21pm), Monterrey - Inter Milan (Wednesday, 3.00am);
Group F: Fluminense - Borussia D (Tuesday, 18pm), Ulsan - Mamelodi (Wednesday, 00.00am).
Group G: Man. City - Vidad (Wednesday, 18pm), Al Ain - Juventus (Thursday, 3.00am);
Group H: Real M - Al Hilal (Wednesday, 21pm), Pachuca - Salzburg (Thursday, 00.00am).
Bonus video:
