Manchester City will face Urawa Red Diamonds in the Club World Cup semi-finals after the latter beat Club Leon 1-0 in their second-round match in Jeddah on Friday.
The Citizens will fly out to Saudi Arabia after Saturday's Premier League clash with Crystal Palace at the Etihad Stadium in preparation for their first-ever campaign at the Club World Cup.
Pep Guardiola's side are the European representatives at this year's tournament after winning the Champions League as part of a historic treble last season.
Man City will enter the Club World Cup at the semi-final stage and have now discovered that Japanese outfit Urawa Red Diamonds will be their opponents in next Tuesday's fixture at the King Abdullah Sport City Stadium in Buraidah.
Urawa Red Diamonds, three-time winners of the AFC Champions League, punched their ticket to the last four courtesy of a 78th-minute strike from Dutch substitute Alex Schalk in a tight affair against Mexican side Club Leon.
🇯🇵 @REDSOFFICIAL are through to the next round of the #ClubWC. 👏
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 15, 2023
Just five minutes after coming off the bench, Schalk found space on the right side of the penalty area and received a pass from Jose Kante before poking a shot beyond Club Leon goalkeeper Rodolfo Cota into the bottom corner.
Urawa Red Diamonds' hopes of victory were boosted when Club Leon defender William Tesillo was shown his second yellow card for a clumsy challenge on the edge of the box six minutes from time.
Club Leon, competing at the Club World Cup for the first time in their history, were unable to find an equaliser with 10 men as Urawa Red Diamonds held on to claim a hard-fought win and set up a showdown with Man City next week.
Urawa Red Diamonds, managed by former Lech Poznan boss Maciej Skorza, have bettered their efforts from their last appearance at the Club World Cup in 2017 when they were eliminated in the second round by Al-Jazira.
Whoever prevails from Tuesday's semi-final between Urawa Red Diamonds and Man City will progress to the final at the King Abdullah Sport City Stadium at 18:00pm (GMT) on December 22.
© Reuters
The other semi-final clash will see Copa Libertadores holders Fluminense face Egyptian giants Al Ahly, who beat Saudi Pro League champions Al Ittihad 3-1 in their second-round match on Friday.
Should Man City fail to win their semi-final fixture, they will face the losers of the other last-four tie in a third-place playoff at 14:30pm (GMT) on the same day as the final.
Guardiola's side are looking to become the fourth English club after Manchester United (2008), Liverpool (2019) and Chelsea (2021) to win the Club World Cup.
The Citizens are also bidding to become the first English team in history to win the Club World Cup, Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, Premier League and FA Cup in the same year.
Should Man City fail to become world champions this year, they will get another crack at success at the expanded 2025 Club World Cup tournament, taking place between June and July of that year, courtesy of their Champions League triumph last season.
Oliver Thomas
