FIFA, AFP
With Thursday's kick off for the FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2022 fast approaching, teams have begun arriving in Doha for a tournament that pits the world's best club sides.
The tournament kicks off with 2020 AFC Champions League winners Ulsan Hyundai FC facing CONCACAF Champions League winners Tigres UANL from Mexico.
Thursday's opening clash will be followed by CAF Champions League winners Al Ahly SC of Egypt playing Qatari champions Al Duhail SC. Ahead of the kick-off, join us as we take a look at some of the FIFA Club World Cup's interesting facts and stats.
4 Bayern Munich are one of only four teams with a 100 per cent winning record in the FIFA Club World Cup™. Internazionale, Milan and Sao Paulo are the other three clubs.
79 seconds is all Al Ain’s Mohamed Ahmed required to head home the fastest goal from kick-off in FIFA Club World Cup history against Esperance at UAE 2018. It broke Diego Tardelli’s record, set for Atletico Mineiro against Guangzhou Evergrande in 2013, by 32 seconds.
44 years and 10 months was the age at which Oscar Perez kept goal for Pachuca against Gremio in the UAE 2017 semi-finals, making him the oldest player to appear in the tournament by over five years. He is followed by 39-year-olds Mitsuo Ogasawara, Miguel Calero, Ante Covic and Paolo Maldini.
17 years and three months was the age at which Alexandre Pato broke Pele’s record – set for Brazil against Wales at Sweden 1958 – to become the youngest scorer in a senior FIFA men’s tournament. Pato had never even made a professional appearance when he was named in Internacional’s Japan 2006 squad, though he netted one minute into his debut three days later. Javier Zanetti, who was 37, is the competition’s oldest marksman.
14 years is the longest gap between a club’s consecutive appearances in the competition. Real Madrid appeared first at Brazil 2000 and next at Morocco 2014, while Liverpool equaled this record last year with a victorious comeback 14 years after the final lost in 2005.
8 goals is what makes Gamba Osaka 3-5 Manchester United at Japan 2008 the highest-scoring match in Club World Cup history. Two finals have produced an unparalleled six goals: AC Milan 4-2 Boca Juniors in 2007 and Real Madrid 4-2 Kashima Antlers in 2016. The competition has never produced a victory by more than a four-goal margin.
5 Toni Kroos has participated in the FIFA Club World Cup final five times and won all of them; he won the tournament in 2013 with Bayern Munich, and then in 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018 as a Real Madrid player.
7 goals is what makes Cristiano Ronaldo the leading marksman in the competition’s history, having netted once for Manchester United in 2008, four times for Real Madrid in 2016 and twice for the same side the following year. Gareth Bale is next on six goals, while Cesar Delgado, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez have five apiece. All of Suarez’s goals came at Japan 2015, making him the leading marksman at one edition.
5 finals have not been Europe versus South America. Corinthians faced fellow Brazilians Vasco da Gama in the first, while Congolese TP Mazembe, Moroccans Raja Casablanca, Japanese Kashima Antlers and Emirati Al Ain played Old Continent opposition in the 2010, 2013, 2017 and 2019 deciders respectively.
4.1 goals per game was the whopping average of UAE 2018 (33 goals in eight matches), smashing the previous record of 3.50 shared by Morocco 2013 and Japan 2016. The 2019 tournament produced the second highest average, with 3.75 goals per game scored (30 goals in eight matches).
4 players have scored Club World Cup hat-tricks: Suarez against Guangzhou Evergrande in the 2015 semi-finals, Ronaldo against Kashima Antlers in the 2016 final, Bale against the Antlers in the last four in 2018 and ES Tunis' Hamdou Elhouni against Al Sadd last year.