Club WC debutants Flamengo land in Doha

CR Flamengo landed in Doha yesterday ahead of their participation in the FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2019. The Brazilian side, who secured qualification by winning CONMEBOL's Copa Libertadores, will play Al Hilal FC in the semi-final on Tuesday at Khalifa International Stadium. The match will kick off at 20:30.

CR Flamengo won their second-ever Copa Libertadores in November, beating Argentina's River Plate 2-1 in the final, and the team also recently won the Brazilian Serie A title. Thousands of Flamengo fans are expected to make the trip to Doha.

'This is a competition that brings club champions together and is full of difficult matches. Here in Doha, we'll represent a nation with over 40 million fans. We're very happy to play a FIFA Club World Cup and we will try to end this special year with another title, said team captain Everton Ribeiro.

Should CR Flamengo and Liverpool FC both win their semi-final matches, fans could see a repeat of the famous 1981 Intercontinental Cup, a precursor to the FIFA Club World Cup. On that occasion, CR Flamengo emerged victorious in Tokyo, Japan, beating Liverpool 3-0.

'We're happy to represent Flamengo and Brazil in a high level tournament here in Qatar. A lot of people are talking about a possible confrontation with Liverpool, but we need to focus on the first game. I'm not interested in anything else at the moment. We have a team to win another tournament, but we need a lot of concentration and work here in Doha. That's how we won the Libertadores and the Brazilian championship, said the team's Portuguese coach Jorge Jesus.

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