Club World Cup match preview: Monterrey vs Liverpool

Monterrey and Liverpool will play in the semifinals of the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup. Monterrey will have to have the best performance in their club history to get past the Champions League winners and Premier League leaders. If Monterrey get through, they will make history in not only being the first Mexican (and CONCACAF) team to get to the Club World Cup Final but in beating an the best team in the competition.

Monterrey came into the tournament as one of the best hopes for making history as a Mexican team in the Club World Cup. They needed to get past the host side Al Sadd, coached by Spanish star Xavi Hernandez. They were able to get a 3-2 win in a game that left a lot of doubts. Al Sadd didn’t look good in their first game against amateur Hienghene Sport, a game they had to take into extra time to win. To make matters worse for Monterrey, Al Sadd got crushed in the fifth place match by Esperance Tunis by a score of 6-2. Still Monterrey can give Liverpool a good game, which is what the majority think that Rayados can hope for. Liverpool is not only the top team in Europe last season, but they are currently on top of the English Premier League and are more talented than Monterrey in almost every way. Liverpool is favored and they should be able to go thru to the final with Brazilian side Flamengo.

Monterrey might hope for a performance like the last time they faced a English side in the Club World Cup. In 2012, Monterrey faced Chelsea in a semifinal game. They gave the side a good match but fell by a score of 3-1. Oddly enough that as the last tournament an European side didn’t win, as Corinthians went on to beat Chelsea 1-0 in the final. Monterrey then went to beat Al Ahly in the third place game. The win was the best result for a Mexican side in the new format and the first one since 2000, where under a different format, Necaxa got third place after beating Real Madrid on penalties. Monterrey are going to be a tough side for Liverpool as they hope for an upset, but the reality is that Liverpool should go through to the final. Should Monterrey get to the final, it would be an historic night for Mexico and probably the most important result in Monterrey’s history.

TV: Fox Deportes/FS2 12:30 PM ET/ 11:30 AM CT