Benzema and Haaland are the most prominent stars of the 2023 Club World Cup – Youm7

Hazem Saladin

Monday, December 11, 2023 03:00 AM

Football fans around the world are looking forward to watching the 2023 Club World Cup, which Saudi Arabia is hosting for the first time this December, with 7 clubs participating in it, in the presence of Al-Ahly, the Egyptian and African champions.

Many are waiting for the imprint of a number of stars during the competitions of the 20th edition of the Club World Cup. With the participation of the champions of the six continents, in addition to the Jeddah Federation (tournament organizer), as the Saudi League champion last season.

Haaland is Manchester City’s most powerful weapon

International press reports highlighted the most prominent stars of the 2023 Club World Cup The English Manchester City team, led by its Spanish coach Pep Guardiola, is the strongest candidate to win the Club World Cup due to its prominent stars in various fields..

Guardiola relies on a strong combination that led him to achieve the historic treble last season, but Ilkay Gundogan left the team by moving to Barcelona of Spain, and Riyad Mahrez to Al-Ahly of Saudi Arabia, while Belgian star Kevin De Bruyne is absent due to injury..

The Spanish coach retains his strongest weapon, which is the Norwegian star Erling Haaland, the team’s top scorer, who won the Golden Boot awards for the top scorer in the English Premier League and the Champions League, in addition to the Best European Player award, and his coming second in the Golden Ball race for the best player in the world behind Lionel Messi..

According to the German News Agency, Haaland remains the highest marketing value among the players in the tournament (180 million euros), as he is a relentless goal machine, as he scored 71 goals in 75 matches with the English team’s shirt in various tournaments..

AndHaaland is next to Haaland in the attacking line, his Argentine colleague Julian Alvarez, who is no less important, and imposed himself strongly in crowning his country with the World Cup (Qatar 2022), finishing seventh in the race of candidates for the Golden Ball..

AndOther than the attacking duo, there remain other weapons in Pep Guardiola’s arsenal that are no less important, such as the Spanish midfielder Rodri (fifth in the Ballon d’Or race), who whenever he is absent from the team, the results decline and the team loses its defensive solidity..

Portuguese star Bernardo Silva (ninth in the 2023 Ballon d’Or rankings) also shines, as he is the primary financier of the attacking line, the opportunity maker, and the cog that connects all the team’s lines..

Benzema tops the stars of Al-Ittihad Jeddah

While the Jeddah Federation is competing in the World Cup of clubs with a star-studded list, headed by Frenchman Karim Benzema, the team’s striker and winner of the Golden Ball for the best player in the world 2022 thanks to his strong imprint with his former team, Real Madrid, Spain..

Although Benzema has advanced in age (36 years), he still retains his charm and sparkle, and hopes to win another coronation with the Tigers after 5 previous coronations with Real Madrid in the Club World Cup..

The Saudi Al-Ittihad team is counting on other stars, such as N’Golo Kante, who won the 2018 World Cup with France, and has many achievements with Leicester City and Chelsea, as well as the Brazilian midfielder Fabinho, the former Liverpool star..

Marcelo returns with Fluminense

The 2023 Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia may involve a confrontation between Benzema and one of his old teammates at Real Madrid, Marcelo, the left back of the South American champions Fluminense, who will start his campaign in the tournament in the semi-finals..

AndMarcelo (35 years old) returned to the forefront with a historic continental coronation in the Fluminense shirt, which also features among its ranks the 35-year-old Argentine striker German Cano, who won the Copa Libertadores top scorer award after scoring 13 goals..

Japan’s Urawa Red Diamonds stars

In the ranks of the Japanese Urawa Red Diamonds, the duo Jose Kante and Danish defender Alexander Schulz shine as they top the team’s top scorers this season with 9 goals, and the Japanese team is counting on them a lot in its third participation in the Club World Cup..

El-Shenawy, Kahraba, Maaloul, El-Shahat, and Tao are Al-Ahly’s most prominent stars

Al-Ahly of Egypt, the African champion and one of the most prominent poles in the history of the Club World Cup, with its ninth participation, will also be present with a number of stars that will be highlighted in the tournament..

The list of Al-Ahly stars is headed by its captain, Mohamed El-Shenawy, who won the Best Player Award in Africa last year, and who is competing for the Best Goalkeeper Award in the African continent for the year 2023 with Moroccan Yassine Bounou and Cameroonian Andre Onana..

El-Shenawy (35 years old) also remains the main goalkeeper for the Egyptian national team since 2018, as he played 43 international matches in the Pharaohs’ jersey..

A number of his teammates appeared with Mohamed El-Shenawy in Al-Ahly’s victory with five local and continental titles last season, such as South African Percy Tau, who is competing for the best player award within the continent for the current year and who is coming from Brighton, England, in the summer of 2021 for 3 million euros..

The duo Mahmoud Abdel Moneim Kahraba and Hussein El-Shahat also shine in Al-Ahly’s ranks, as Kahraba tops Al-Ahly’s scorers list under the leadership of current coach Marcel Kohler, followed by El-Shahat and then Percy Tau..

Under the leadership of the Swiss Kohler, Al-Ahly scored 144 goals in various tournaments, including 20 goals by Kahraba, compared to 15 goals for Hussein Al-Shahat, followed by 14 goals for Percy Tau..

We also cannot ignore Tunisian Ali Maaloul, the team’s left back, who carved a bright history for himself with Al-Ahly over more than 7 seasons since he joined from CS Sfaxien in the summer of 2016..

Despite being a defender, Maaloul (34 years old) is also considered one of the most dangerous offensive weapons in Al-Ahly’s ranks due to his excellence in shooting set pieces and crosses, as he scored 49 goals with 76 assists in 267 local, continental and international matches..