Friday’s showpiece occasion in Jeddah brings together Europe’s Champions League winners and the Copa Libertadores victors from South America in a fascinating final.
City booked our ticket with Tuesday’s 3-0 semi-final win over Urawa Red Diamonds 24 hours after Fluminense had overcome Al-Ahly 2-0 at the King Abdullah Sport City Stadium.
For City, the game presents the Club with an opportunity to become the first English team to win the five major trophies of Premier League, FA Cup, Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup in a single calendar year.
Addressing the media at Thursday’s pre-match conference the City boss said his squad were primed and aware of the importance of the occasion but equally there was respect in abundance for the quality of our opponents.
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“The players are ready and they know how important it is,” Guardiola declared.
“The pleasure is to have done it. We won the semi final. We try since the semi-final against Urawa to assess the quality that Fluminense have.
“I know exactly the talent and the quality of Fluminense and what they can do. They have beaten teams from Argentina, Colombia and Uruguay.
“I know the players and respect them for what they do. It’s really good the way they play.
“The experience they have with Marcelo, their keeper. They have five or six players over 37, that means they can control emotions. Cano is a striker that has goal in his head.
“They play typical Brazilian style of the 1970s, 80s and the early 90s like when Brazil won the World Cup in 1994.
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“They play lots of ball, short passes, one v one, physicality. We have to be aware how much they will try to run behind.
“We have to be precise with the ball and accept they play the way we never face. It is not positional, they move a lot. The ball moves side to side.
“We have to impose our rhythm and do a good performance and be resilient in the bad moments.”
With so much at stake in such a prestigious event, emotion could also play a factor on the night.
Asked about whether the players needed to try and suppress their emotions, the boss said that was a natural part of playing such an important game – rather that the key was how they controlled them.
And he referenced the experience of his first Club World Cup final when in charge at Barcelona as to the pressure and challenge this unique fixture throws up.
“How do we do that? [suppress emotions]. How do you play a Club World Cup final without emotion?” Pep asked.
Emotion is there, it’s how you handle it. It’s there [in the head]. It’s how long it stays in your mind. That’s the big target in finals.
“It’s the fourth time I am here. The first time at Barcelona in 2009 we scored in the 93rd minutes to go to extra time.
“We were favourites, but we were out. That’s when I realised the competition from Brazil and South America is so difficult.”
Every match at the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup is available to watch in the UK on TNT Sports and FIFA+. For fans outside of the UK, click here to find out how you can watch the matches in Saudi Arabia.
The official Man City app will also have free live radio commentary as part of our usual Matchday Live show that includes studio guests previewing and analysing the action.
FLUMINENSE V CITY APP COVERAGE
Our official app allows you to follow all of the action from one place.
Minute-by-minute text updates will begin in our Matchday Centre two hours before kick-off, while our Matchday Live show will begin at 16:00 (UK).
In our studio, Steph Houghton, Nedum Onuoha and Shaun Wright-Phillips will comprise our star-studded line-up for Matchday Live to provide City-centric analysis of the game before, during and after the action.
They will also answer viewer questions throughout the broadcast, with audience participation actively encouraged on Matchday Live. To get in touch, send a WhatsApp to: +447537186538.
During the game you can also listen to live audio commentary from Alistair Mann and Andy Morrison while our text commentary continues on our Matchday Centre.
Make sure to have push notifications turned on as well, so you can be alerted to key moments in the action, including goals, red cards and the team news.
