Manchester City Aims to Complete Trophy Collection at FIFA Club World Cup

Pep Guardiola believes that the FIFA Club World Cup presents Manchester City with an opportunity to achieve a remarkable feat by winning all available trophies. The team is set to face Urawa Red Diamonds in the semi-finals on Tuesday.

City’s Impressive Trophy Collection

Under the guidance of Guardiola, Manchester City has already secured several major titles, including the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, and UEFA Super Cup. Additionally, they have triumphed in the EFL Cup and Community Shield.

“It’s the first time Man City is here [the Club World Cup],” said Guardiola. “We don’t take it for granted, it’s a privilege, an honor to be here.”

Potential Return of De Bruyne and Haaland

Kevin de Bruyne and Erling Haaland have both traveled to Saudi Arabia with the team after recovering from their recent injuries. However, it remains uncertain whether they will participate in the matches.

De Bruyne, who suffered a hamstring injury on the opening day of the season, trained with the team on Monday. Meanwhile, Haaland has been sidelined for the past three games due to a foot injury.

“Erling is a big player for us, we can’t deny that,” midfielder Bernardo Silva acknowledged. “But the big strength at City in my time here is no matter who is missing, we are the same team and we fight for all the titles. We will do that, of course, if Erling Haaland is not here. We will miss him, but we have Julian Alvarez, and he is a top striker.”

European Dominance and Urawa Challenge

The last ten editions of the Club World Cup have been won by European teams, including Liverpool and Chelsea. Guardiola himself has previously won the tournament twice with Barcelona.

Manchester City will face Urawa, the Asian Champions League holders from Japan, at Jeddah’s King Abdullah Sports City Stadium. The winners of this match will go on to face either Fluminense or Al Ahly in the final on Friday.

“To reach the final is tricky. We don’t know them much, we got as much information as possible,” Guardiola commented. “Japan’s national team is beating Germany, winning games against the best in the world. Football in Japan is strong.”

FA Fine for Player Misconduct

In other news, Manchester City has been fined £120,000 by the Football Association following an incident where their players surrounded referee Simon Hooper during their dramatic 3-3 draw with Tottenham earlier this month.