If you didn’t know, the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup just wrapped up! A competition that’s played under the radar, the FIFA Club World Cup brings together the best clubs in the world to compete for the title of being the greatest among all of the Champions League tournaments.

This year’s annual FIFA Club World Cup was played in Saudi Arabia where over the past week the seven clubs have competed for the Club World Cup title. Despite the competition being short and sweet, it’s still a major title for a club to hold.

What’s the FIFA Club World Cup?

The FIFA Club World Cup is an annual competition that takes the winners of the AFC Champions League, the CAF Champions League, OFC Champions League, UEFA Champions League, Copa Libertadores, and CONCACAF Champions League Cup along with a host nation’s National Champion to compete for the title. This year the seven clubs included:

1. Al Ittihad (Saudi Arabia)
2. Auckland City (New Zealand)
3. Club Leon (Mexico)
4. Urawa Red Diamonds (Japan)
5. Al Ahly (Egypt)
6. Fluminense (Brazil)
7. Manchester City (Premier League)

Real Madrid holds the record for the most Club World Cup wins (5), but a mix of clubs across the world have had their fair share at the title.

The competition only consists of seven clubs competing, but it’s scheduled to expand into a 32-team tournament come 2025. With FIFA confirming that a maximum of two clubs are able to qualify from one country, this rule will be lifted if there are more than two Champions League winners from one country over the four-year qualifying cycle.

The 2023 Tournament

As quick as it came, the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup has already been completed. With that being said, the results are in and Manchester City has taken home the title with a 4-0 win over Fluminense!

With the final match between Manchester City and Fluminense, Manchester City have officially won their fifth trophy in a single year. Before now, the Club World Cup trophy was the only major tournament achievement that the Cityzens had yet to win. Winning this tournament on their first attempt ever is a major accomplishment for the squad. With goals from Alvarez, Nino, and Foden, City held their ground throughout the entirety of the match.

This remarkable achievement is further evidence that Guardiola’s squad is one of excellence, and can now ring in the new year after a very special 2023 season. Five trophies in a calendar year, and to remain consistent among competitions is difficult to do, so shoutout to Guardiola and the Manchester City squad for pulling this off!

Fluminense proved to be too strong of a team against Al Ahly in the semi-finals round, as the Brazilians won 2-0 putting them in the final in their first-ever appearance in the competition. Al Ahly did, however, have a great showing in the second round against Al Ittihad, winning 3-1. Al Ittihad, Saudi Arabia’s squad in the tournament, is well-known today for homing some popular European players including Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kante, who both scored in the first round against Auckland City for a 3-0 win.

Manchester City, who defeated Real Madrid for their spot in the tournament, fought hard for their 3-0 semi-final win against the Urawa Reds. With some of their top players out on injury – Kevin de Bruyne, Erling Haaland, and Jeremy Doku – they didn’t let those massive injuries hold them back. Despite not making it farther in the tournament, the Urawa Reds did pull of a 1-0 win in the second round against Leon with a goal scored by Alex Schalk in the 78^th minute.

With this year’s Club World Cup being a big hit for fans, the tournament should gain more attention with the 32-team expansion in the near future. With more opportunities for clubs around the world to participate, the tournament will have a more global impact. As well, with a larger team format, players will have longer recovery times to increase injury prevention, recovery work, nutrition and rest.

What team were you rooting for at this year’s tournament? Let us know in the comments, and then head on over to SoccerCards.ca and treat yourself to some World Cup and UEFA Champions League trading cards so that you can collect all of your favorite global superstars!