Al Ain kept apart from Real Madrid in Fifa Club World Cup UAE 2018 draw

UAE champions, representing the host nation, will need to get past Wellington in the tournament's first match before progressing to the quarter-finals

The draw for the Fifa Club World Cup UAE 2018 takes place in Zurich, Switzerland on Tuesday. Reuters

Al Ain have been placed in the opposite side of this year’s Fifa Club World Cup to defending champions Real Madrid, after the draw took place in Zurich on Tuesday.

The UAE champions, who qualify as host representatives, will meet the winner of South America’s Copa Libertadores in the semi-final should they first get past New Zealand’s Team Wellington in the play-off on December 12, and then a quarter-final against the winners of this year’s African Champions League on December 15. Both matches will be played at Al Ain’s Hazza bin Zayed Stadium.

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Madrid, the reigning European champions, won the tournament in the Emirates last year and do not enter the competition until the semi-final stage.

The tournament, played in the UAE for the second successive year and fourth time overall, takes place in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain from December 12-22.

The seven-team event also features Mexico’s Guadalajara, with three clubs still to be confirmed in November.