TheKhalifa International Stadium in Al Rayyan hosted the final. | |||||||
| Event | 2019 FIFA Club World Cup | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Afterextra time | |||||||
| Date | 21 December 2019 (2019-12-21) | ||||||
| Venue | Khalifa International Stadium,Al Rayyan | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Roberto Firmino (Liverpool)[1] | ||||||
| Referee | Abdulrahman Al-Jassim (Qatar)[2] | ||||||
| Attendance | 45,416[1] | ||||||
| Weather | Clear night 20 °C (68 °F) 66%humidity[2][3] | ||||||
←2018 2020 → | |||||||
The2019 FIFA Club World Cup final was the final match of the2019 FIFA Club World Cup, an international clubassociation football tournament hosted by Qatar. It was the 16th final of theFIFA Club World Cup, aFIFA-organised tournament between the club champions from each of the six continental confederations, as well as the host nation's league champions.
The final was contested betweenEnglish clubLiverpool, representingUEFA as the reigning champions of theUEFA Champions League, andBrazilian clubFlamengo, representingCONMEBOL as the reigning champions of theCopa Libertadores. The match was played at theKhalifa International Stadium inAl Rayyan on 21 December 2019.[4]
Liverpool won the match 1–0 after extra time for their first FIFA Club World Cup title, having finished as runners-up on in2005.[5] As winners, Liverpool were rewarded with £4 million inprize money.[6]
In the following table, finals until 2005 were in the FIFA Club World Championship era, since 2006 were in the FIFA Club World Cup era.
| Team | Confederation | Qualification for tournament | Previous club world championship finals |
|---|---|---|---|
| UEFA | Winners of the2018–19 UEFA Champions League | 12005 | |
| CONMEBOL | Winners of the2019 Copa Libertadores | None |
The final took place at theKhalifa International Stadium inAl Rayyan, Qatar. The venue previously hosted matches at the2011 AFC Asian Cup, including thefinal, and was chosen as a venue for the2022 FIFA World Cup. Originally, the final (along with the second semi-final and third place match) was to be played at theEducation City Stadium, also located in Al Rayyan.[7] However, the matches were moved after the opening of the Education City Stadium was postponed to early 2020.[8]
The final was a rematch of the1981 Intercontinental Cup, recognised by FIFA as aclub world championship. Flamengo won the match 3–0 for their only club world title.[9] Flamengo hadn't reached the final since while Liverpool had participated in two world championship matches in1984 and2005, also losing both toIndependiente andSão Paulo respectively.[10]
| Team | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opponent | Result | 2019 FIFA Club World Cup | Opponent | Result |
| 2–1 | Semi-finals | 3–1 | ||
Liverpool qualified for the Club World Cup as champions of theUEFA Champions League, having defeatedTottenham Hotspur in thefinal. The club had previously played in the2005 Club World Championship, finishing as runners-up to São Paulo.[11] Due to their participation in the tournament, Liverpool were forced to field a squad of youth players for anEFL Cup tie againstAston Villa due to the proximity of the two games, with the senior squad heading to Qatar to prepare while the reserves played in the cup game managed by U-23's managerNeil Critchley.[12] As a result, they were beaten 5–0, the club's heaviest ever defeat in the competition[13][14]
Liverpool entered with abye to the semi-finals, where they facedNorth American championsMonterrey of Mexico. The Reds went ahead in the 12th minute with a strike byNaby Keïta, who collected a pass fromMohamed Salah at the right side of thebox. Monterrey equalised two minutes later asRogelio Funes Mori, who collected a rebound offAlisson's save of a volley taken byJesús Gallardo. Liverpool had several chances to retake the lead and switched to a new formation after half-time, but were unable to score and left themselves open to counter-attacks. SubstituteRoberto Firmino scored the winning goal for Liverpool in the first minute of stoppage time, tapping in a pass fromTrent Alexander-Arnold within the six-yard box.[15][16]
Flamengo qualified for the Club World Cup as winners of theCopa Libertadores, defeatingRiver Plate with two last-minute goals byGabriel Barbosa in thefinal, which was played a month before the Club World Cup.[17]
Flamengo entered with a bye to their semi-final match againstAFC Champions League winnersAl Hilal ofSaudi Arabia. Flamengo started poorly and nearly conceded toBafétimbi Gomis in the 16th minute after a big rebound from goalkeeperDiego Alves. Two minutes later,Mohammed Al-Breik crossed low toSalem Al-Dawsari in the box who scored the opening goal. Flamengo did little to create good chances in the first half but returned with a different posture and higher defensive line in the second half. Within three minutes, Flamengo's attacking trio leveled the score: Gabriel Barbosa foundBruno Henrique open inside the box, who rolled the ball across toGiorgian De Arrascaeta for the equalizer.Diego came on in substitute forGerson and initiated the play in the 78th minute that resulted inRafinha's cross to Bruno Henrique for the go-ahead header. Three minutes later, Diego found Bruno Henrique in the box whose cross was deflected in byAli Al-Bulaihi for an own-goal. Moments later,André Carrillo of Al-Hilal was sent off after hitting De Arrascaeta. Flamengo advance with the 3–1 victory.[18]
Roberto Firmino nearly scored for Liverpool in the first minute of the match, as the ball was lifted to him past the defense but his shot sailed high. Shortly after,Jordan Henderson andTrent Alexander-Arnold of Liverpool find shots of their own. Both teams continued equally matched, with Flamengo having a spell of possession after a rocky start and maintaining nearly sixty percent possession in the half.[19] At the other end,Bruno Henrique had several sights of goal, though none quite as dangerous as Liverpool's.[20]
Two minutes into the second half, Firmino nearly scored again, this time hitting the inside of the left post.[21] In the 53rd minute, Flamengo'sGabriel Barbosa shot high, and later forced a diving save from goalkeeperAlisson with a shot from inside the 18-yard box. In the 73rd minute,Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was injured and came off forAdam Lallana. Flamengo brought onVitinho andDiego in place ofGiorgian de Arrascaeta andÉverton Ribeiro. In the 83rd minute, Liverpool had their first dangerous shot on goal: a shot from Henderson fed byMohamed Salah that was tipped over the frame by goalkeeperDiego Alves. Moments into stoppage time, Liverpool was awarded a penalty afterRafinha clipped the trailing foot ofSadio Mané free on goal on the edge of the penalty area. The decision was taken tovideo review where it appeared that the foul occurred outside the box and would result in a free kick, however the foul was waved off completely and play resumed with Flamengo.[22] Regulation time ended with the match still scoreless.
In the 99th minute, Liverpool scored the breakthrough goal. Henderson played a long ball forward to Mané whichRodrigo Caio could not deflect. One-on-one with Rafinha, Mané played to an approaching Firmino on his left who hesitated and scored around Diego Alves. For Liverpool,James Milner came on forNaby Keïta, and for FlamengoLincoln came on for midfielderGerson.[23] In the second period of extra time, Flamengo found one dangerous opportunity to equalize in the 119th minute when a Vitinho cross rebounded back to him off a defender and he picked out Lincoln whose shot sailed high from ten yards out.[23] Minutes later, the match ended and Liverpool were victors by a score of 1–0.[24]
![]() ![]() ![]() Liverpool[25] | ![]() ![]() ![]() Flamengo[25] |
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Man of the Match: Assistant referees:[2] | Match rules[26]
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| Statistic | Liverpool | Flamengo |
|---|---|---|
| Goals scored | 1 | 0 |
| Total shots | 18 | 14 |
| Shots on target | 6 | 2 |
| Saves | 2 | 5 |
| Ball possession | 48% | 52% |
| Corner kicks | 5 | 7 |
| Fouls committed | 22 | 16 |
| Offsides | 3 | 6 |
| Yellow cards | 4 | 2 |
| Red cards | 0 | 0 |
With the win, Liverpool secured their first Club World Cup title, becoming the second English club to win the competition afterManchester United in2008.[24] Liverpool's Roberto Firmino was given the man of the match award,[1] while teammate Mohamed Salah was awarded theGolden Ball by FIFA's Technical Study Group, which was jointly awarded with theAlibaba Cloud Player of the Tournament award. Flamengo's Bruno Henrique won the tournament's Silver Ball award.[27]