Club World Cup: Update 12/15/2013

What an exciting round of games there has been in Morocco as Raja Casablanca of Morocco edged New Zealand's Auckland City in a 2-1 affair that saw Mouhssine Iajour open the scoring for the hosts in the 39th minute while Roy Krishna of Auckland City made it 1-all in the 63rd minute. In the 2nd minute of stoppage time of the 2nd half, Abdelilah Hafidi gave the Casablancan side the lead that carried them through into their Quarter-Final bout with Monterrey out of Mexico. In that face-off, Raja Casablanca once more took the lead early-on through Chemseddine Chtibi in the 24th minute. The Mexicans were able to equalize in the 53rd minute through Jose Maria Basanta. Going into extra-time, the North Africans were able to grab the lead through Kouko Guehi in the 95th minute much to the chagrin of the Monterrey outfit. In the other Quarter-Finals match-up, Guangzhou Evergrande of China took on Egypt's Al Ahly and gave the North Africans a right thumping. At the same time, the Chinese left it til late to take the lead with Elkeson striking in the 49th minute of the 2nd half while Dario Conca made it 2-0 for Guangzhou Evergrande in the 67th minute. With that round of matches out of the way, the 5th Place match has Al Ahly taking on Monterrey. As for the sides that remain in contention, the Semi-Finals see Guangzhou Evergrande face Germany and Europe's Champion Bayern Munich. Raja Casablanca meanwhile battle Brazil's Atletico Mineiro in what should be an absolutely enthralling match-up. Between these two matches, the parties that are defeated will face one another in the 3rd Place game as the winners go on to the Final in Marrakech. I would not be surprised to see Bayern and Raja Casablanca in that showdown although I believe Atletico Mineiro are the favorites to face Bayern in the showpiece event. Make sure to check out the games picking up again on the 17th of December and continuing to the 18th. The Final and 3rd Place matches will take place on the 21st of the same month. Happy Holidays!