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11/22/2024 07:36:12 am

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Football News: Guangzhou Evergrande Ready to Represent China, Asia in FIFA Club World Cup

Guangzhou Evergrande players

(Photo : Getty Images) Guangzhou Evergrande players line-up before their 2013 FIFA Club World Cup 3rd Place Match against Atletico Mineiro at the Marrakech Stadium. The team is ready to compete in the 2015 edition of the tournament with their opening quarterfinal match against Club América all set on December 13 at the Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan.

Five-time Chinese Super League champions and two-time AFC Champions League winners Guangzhou Evergrande is ready to represent China and Asia in this month's 2015 FIFA Club World Cup tournament hosted by Japan.

The Southern China Tigers, led by Brazilian head coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, had won a 3-1 friendly over Guangdong on Tuesday to show fine form before their opening game against Mexico's Club América on December 13 at the Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Xinhuanet reports.

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Attacking midfielder Ricardo Goulart led the Tigers with a goal and an assist, netting one at the 15th-minute mark and assisting another to left winger Zheng Long to increase their lead before the halftime interval.

After winning this year's AFC Champions League tourney last month, Guangzhou automatically earned a quarterfinals berth in the Club World Cup.

If they beat Ignacio Ambríz's América on Sunday, Scolari's boys will face defending La Liga and UEFA Champions League winners FC Barcelona on December 17 in the semifinals, which promises to be an instant blockbuster of a match that the whole world has been anticipating.

Legions of Asian and European fans are eager to see such a matchup and it remains to be seen whether it would push through this time.

Guangzhou is led by team captain and AFC Footballer of the Year candidate Zheng Zhi, who is also the skipper of the Chinese national football team, and five of Scolari's countrymen, Goulart, Robinho, Paulinho, Alan, and Elkeson.

Scolari had just replaced Fabio Cannavaro as Evergrande's chief bench tactician in June of this year and has so far led the squad to titles in both domestic and continental competitions, even transforming the squad into a legitimate world title contender, as per Box Score News.

"After years of an Italian influence, with Marcelo Lippi on the bench - after Cannavaro - and players like Alberto Gilardino and Alessandro Diamanti, Brazil is now the boss in Canton," the report said.

Meanwhile, Four Four Two said that having a genuine World Cup-winning coach sitting on their bench has given Guangzhou players much confidence competing in world football events.

It is said to be a record-breaking win if Scolari could lead Evergrande to the Club World Cup title as he would be the first manager to ever lift both country and club World Cups in history.

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