We Are The Reds

Bit of a turn -up for the books from the AFC perspective.

After getting past Team Wellington via a penalty shoot-out, host champions Al-Ain have switched on and made light work of African champions ES Tunis with a 3-0 drubbing.

Kashima Antlers accounted for CONCACAF champions, Guadalajara, 3-2.

Next up is River Plate for Al-Ain and Real Madrid for Kashima Antlers.

Al-Ain defeated River Plate on penalties - same team that struggled to get past Team Wellington

Al-Ain defeated River Plate on penalties - same team that struggled to get past Team Wellington

I've only seen highlights of games but I think the tournament has gotten quite interesting these days. If a club from Europe or S America doesn't take the games seriously there is a great chance they can slip up.
Looks like Real took time to break Kashima down then ran over them once they had done so.

Al-Ain v Real final! Who would have thought!

I wonder if there is any plan for an expanded tournament? Obviously these clubs have busy schedules as is. I would love to see it made more into a league where each club plays each other home and away throughout the year. Something like this could replace the meaningless pre-season tournament that is played all over the world. Clubs could also sell their home games to other countries if for example Real decided to play one of their games in the US.