FIFA Club World Cup 2023: Participating teams announce official squads for tournament in Saudi Arabia

The seven contenders for the FIFA Club World Cup Saudi Arabia 2023 have named their 23-man squads for the tournament. The tournament is set to kick off on 12 December with Al-Ittihad facing Auckland City, leading up to the final on 22 December. Rodri, Bernardo Silva, Julian Alvarez and Erling Haaland will represent UEFA Champions League holders Manchester City at the tournament. Kevin De Bruyne, not featured since the opening day of the Premier League season in August due to injury, has also been included in the squad. Fluminense right-back Samuel Xavier will join other key players such as Real Madrid legend Marcelo, 22-year-old Seleção midfielder Andre, Colombia winger Jhon Arias and Argentina’s German Cano. Al Ittihad will send arguably the strongest-ever squad outside Europe or South America to a Club World Cup, with Marcelo Gallardo picking the likes of Luiz Felipe, N’Golo Kante, Fabinho, Jota and Karim Benzema. Fellow Arab hopefuls Al Ahly included several players who have dazzled in the global finals, among them Mohamed Elshenawy, Hussein Elshahat, Kahraba and Afsha. Lucas Romero and Angel Mena recovered from knocks to make the Leon squad, and Atsuki Ito won his race against time to be fit for Urawa Red Diamonds. The Asian champions will nevertheless be without Hiroki Sakai. Auckland City, for their part, have no injury concerns. You can view the complete squads of all the participating teams by clicking the link here.