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Monday Nov 18, 2024
Wednesday, 26 September 2012 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Reuters: European champions Chelsea will face either Monterrey of Mexico or the winners of the Asian Champions League in the semi-finals of the Club World Cup following draw for the tournament on Monday.
Chelsea received a bye in the first round of the competition, to be held in Japan from December 6-16, and will enter at the semi-final stage on December 13.
The Asian champions will be decided in early November.
The champions of the Japanese J-League, which ends on December 1, will open the tournament against New Zealand’s Auckland City at Nissan Stadium in Yokohama.
With eight games remaining in the J-League, Sanfrecce Hiroshima lead Vegalta Sendai by two points and former Asian champions Urawa Reds are a further three points back.
The winners of that first match will then play the African champions, who will be decided on November 10 with the victors going on to face Brazil’s Copa Libertadores champions Corinthians in the last four on December 12. The third-fourth place match and the final are both in Yokohama on December 16.
