Chivas Guadalajara potential rivals in the FIFA Club World Cup 2018 | OneFootball

So far, there’s only two teams with a secured ticket to the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup, but Chivas Guadalajara can start analyzing potential rivals for the quarter-finals round.

After beating Toronto FC on penalty kicks and securing their first appearance in the World Cup to be played in the UAE, Chivas became one of the seven clubs from among six confederations that will be participating in the tournament.

The UEFA Champions League has only four teams still alive and the Copa Libertadores is still a long way to be over, but considering the European and South American clubs will debut until the World Cup semifinals, we take a look at the clubs from the other confederations:

Al-Ain

They were the first team to qualify as they crowned themselves champions of the UAE league. As UAE is the host nation, its league champions have the right to participate in the World Cup.

Their main star is Swedish striker Marcus Berg, who has played for storied European clubs such as Hamburg and PSV. He also participated in the World Cup qualifiers with Sweden, including the play-off against Italy. He’s got a legit chance of playing against Mexico in Russia 2018.

Asia

Al-Ahli from Saudi Arabia; Al-Ain and Al-Jazira from UAE; Al-Sadd and Al-Duhail from Qatar; Esteghlal, Zon-Ahan and Persépolis from Iran; Suwon Bluewings, Ulsan and Jeonbuk from South Korea; Tianjin Quanjian, Guangzhou Evergrande and Shanghai SIPG from China; Buriram from Thailand and Kashima from Japan have all qualified to the last-16 round of the Asian Champions League. The draw to know the ties hasn’t taken place yet, but regardless, one of those 16 could be facing Guadalajara in December.

Africa

Al Ahly from Egypt; Township Rollers from Gabon; KCCA from Uganda; Etoile and Esperánce from Tunisia; TP Mazembe from Congo; MC Alger and ES Etif from Algeria; Wydad Casablanca (current champions) and Difaa El Jadidi from Morocco; Togo-Port from Togo; Mamelodi Sundowns from South Africa; Horoya from Guinea; Zesco from Zambia; 1º of August from Angola and Mbabane from Swaziland, will be playing in the African Champions League group-stage.

It is relevant to note that Concacaf sides are usually drawn against Asian or African clubs in the World Cup quarter-finals.