DOHA: CR Flamengo landed here on Saturday for the FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2019, where they will play either Hilal or Tunis in the semifinal on Tuesday.
The match will be held at Khalifa International Stadium (kick off 20:30 local time ).
The Brazilian side, who secured qualification by winning CONMEBOL’s Copa Libertadores.
Flamengo won their second-ever Copa Libertadores in November, beating Argentina’s River Plate 2-1 in the final.
The team also recently won the Brazilian Serie A title, and thousands of Flamengo fans are expected to make the trip to Doha.
“This is a competition that brings club champions together and is full of difficult matches. Here in Doha, we’ll represent a nation with over 40 million fans. We’re very happy to play a FIFA Club World Cup and we will try to end this special year with another title,” said team captain Everton Ribeiro.
Should Flamengo and Liverpool FC both win their semifinal matches, fans could see a repeat of the famous 1981 Intercontinental Cup, a precursor to the FIFA Club World Cup.
On that occasion, Flamengo emerged victorious in Tokyo, Japan, beating Liverpool 3-0.
“We’re happy to represent Flamengo and Brazil in a high level tournament here in Qatar. A lot of people are talking about a possible confrontation with Liverpool, but we need to focus on the first game.
I’m not interested in anything else at the moment. We have a team to win another tournament, but we need a lot of concentration and work here in Doha. That’s how we won the Libertadores and the Brazilian championship”, said the team’s Portuguese coach Jorge Jesus.”
Tickets for the tournament are currently available via FIFA.com/tickets, including Flamengo’s debut in the competition on 17 December.
Tickets are affordably priced in three categories, ranging from QAR 25 for Category 3 tickets to the first three matchdays, up to QAR 400 for Category 1 tickets for the double-header comprising the third-place play-off and the final.
