European champion Barcelona of Spain will meet
either Mexico's America or the eventual Asian champion in the
semifinals of this year's Club World Cup in Japan after the official
draw Thursday.
South American football confederation winner Internacional of
Brazil will face either New Zealand's Auckland City, the Oceania
Football Confederation Club Championship winner, or the yet to be
decided African Football Confederation champion in the other
semifinal.
Auckland City was drawn to open the tournament against the
African winner on Dec. 10 at Toyota, while CONCACAF Champions Cup
winner America plays the Asian Football Confederation champion in
the other quarterfinal at Tokyo on Dec. 11.
Top-seeded Barcelona plays its first match in the semifinals on
Dec. 14 at Yokohama, while Internacional contests its semifinal at
Tokyo on Dec. 13.
Australia, which traditionally dominates Oceania, missed out on
the tournament after switching to the Asian confederation at the
beginning of the year, making its teams ineligible to qualify for
the AFC Champions League.
The Dec. 10-17 Club World Cup, formerly known as the Club World
Championship, features the top club teams from soccer's six
continental confederations.
The final will be played on Dec. 17 in Yokohama.
