In the United Arab Emirates (UAE) this week - crucial FIFA Club World Cup matches. Already on Tuesday, in the first semi-final, the winner of the "Copa Libertadores" cup just over a week ago, Buenos Aires "River Plate" will face the hosts of the tournament, Abu Dhabi "Al-Ain". In the next - on Wednesday, the Asian champions Kashima "Antlers" and the three-time consecutive winners of the Champions League, Madrid "Real", will clash. In this 15th edition of the tournament final, football experts see the strongest teams from South America and Europe. Especially when they started the tournament from the semi-finals. The other two semi-final participants had to struggle to get to this stage of the competition. The hosts "Al-Ain", after a tense 90 minutes and a 3:3 result against the strongest team from Oceania, "Team Wellington" from New Zealand, clarified the relationship in a penalty shootout, which they won 4:3. In the second stage, they faced the best African team - Tunisia's "Esperance". They managed to defeat their resistance much easier - 3:0. Now for the first time in this FIFA tournament, the teams with almost 26,000 seats at the "Hazza bin Zayed" stadium are waiting for "River Plate", which experienced an extraordinary "Copa Libertadores" final. After the first two matches of the two Argentine capital teams, which ended in a 2:2 result, the fans of these teams stoned the bus of the same city's "Boca Juniors" team, and several players from both teams were injured. The return match was moved to Spain - almost 10,000 kilometers from where it was supposed to take place at the end of November - at the "Estadio Monumental" stadium. Due to the attack of the fans, losing the opportunity to play at their home ground, "River Plate" defeated the principled opponents at "Santiago Bernabeu" stadium only after extra time with a score of 3:1 (0:1), when Wilmar Barrios was sent off the field in the 92nd minute. It would not be surprising if the Argentinians, who created a real soccer festival at home in Madrid, also came to the UAE. Especially when in the final of the tournament they are predicted to face the hosts of "Santiago Bernabeu" - the "Real" footballers. However, first, after defeating the "Liverpool" team in the last CL final with a score of 3:1, "Los Blancos" have to cross the barrier of the "Antlers," who participate in the tournament for the second time. The first attempt was unsuccessful for the Japanese - two years ago, they lost only in the final to the same "Real". This year, the representatives from Asia have already defeated the team from Guadalajara, Mexico, with a score of 3:2, and could cause trouble for the "Royal Club," which is looking particularly bad this season after saying goodbye to coach Zinadine Zidane and leader Cristiano Ronaldo. The winners of this pair will be clarified at the 43,000-seat "Zayed" stadium, where the final and the match for the third place will take place on Saturday. FIFA Club World Cup schedule: Tuesday 9:15 p.m. - Semi-final. Broadcast from Al Ain. (LRT PLIUS, LRT.lt) Wednesday 6:30 p.m. - Semi-final. Live broadcast from Abu Dhabi. (LRT PLIUS, LRT.lt) Saturday 3:30 p.m. - Match for 3rd place. Live broadcast from Abu Dhabi. (LRT PLIUS, LRT.lt) 6:30 p.m. - Final. Live broadcast from Abu Dhabi. (LRT PLIUS, LRT.lt)
