FIFA Club World Cup Preview: Teams from Brazil, Mexico Competing in Last Seven-Team Edition

ALABAMA - The 20th edition of the FIFA Club World Cup will take place this year in Saudi Arabia between December 12 and 22. It will be the last to feature the current seven-team format, following FIFA president Gianni Infantino's announcement last December that a new 32-team format would launch in the Summer of 2025, with plans of being held in the United States.

This year's tournament will feature the champions of each affiliated confederation plus one team from host nation Saudi Arabia. Three teams will be making their first appearance in the competition, including UEFA Champions League champions Manchester City along with Copa Libertadores winners Fluminense. Mexico's Club León will also make its debut in the continental competition.

For more information about schedules and dates, click here.

Clubs competing in the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup

Europe (UEFA): Manchester City (1st app.)
South America (CONMEBOL): Fluminense (1st app.)
North America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF): Club León (1st app.)
Africa (CAF): Al Ahly (9th app.)
Oceania (OFC): Auckland City (11th app.)
Host Nation (Saudi Arabia): Al-Ittihad (2nd app.)

Only teams from two confederations have dominated the Club World Cup over the past 19 years, with European teams winning 15 titles and South American clubs taking home the other four. UEFA teams have reached the final in 18 instances, with Real Madrid being the only one to fail to do so in the competition's first-ever edition (eliminated in group stage).

León will become the 9th different Mexican team to take part in the FIFA Club World Cup. León won its first CONCACAF Cup in June after defeating MLS team LAFC. León's 2023 crown comes after the Seattle Sounders snapped a 16-year dominance of Mexican clubs in the region.

The best outcome of a CONCACAF team in the history of the competition came in 2020, when Mexican club Tigres reached the final and narrowly lost to German giant Bayern Munich.

For South American teams, the Club World Cup has seen far more success compared to their North American counterparts. CONMEBOL teams have reached the final in 14 out of the previous 19 tournaments, with Brazilian teams collecting all the silverware. The last non-European team to win the Club World Cup was Corinthians in 2012, when the side defeated Chelsea to win their 2nd title. Only Barcelona (3) and Real Madrid (5) have won the FIFA Club World Cup more times than Corinthians.

Argentine teams, who have also dominated the Copa Libertadores during the 19-year existence of the Club World Cup, have lost all 4 of their appearances in the final. The only Argentine team that failed to reach the final was River Plate, eliminated in the 2018 semifinals by the UAE's Al-Ain.