Liverpool's 2019 Club World Cup Fate Revealed as FIFA Finally Release Tournament Dates
FIFA has confirmed the dates for the 2019 Club World Cup in Qatar, with the annual tournament for the champions of each continent to take place between 11 and 21 December.
As Champions League winners representing UEFA, Liverpool will get automatic passage to the semi-final stage and will therefore not play their first game until 18 December.
The 2019 Copa Libertadores winners from South America will get a bye to the other semi final, with the identity of the club unknown until the CONMEBOL competition concludes in November.
Mexican club Monterrey, CONCACAF Champions League winners, Hienghene Sport from New Caledonia, winners of the OFC Champions League, are the only other confirmed qualifiers.
As well as the aforementioned South America, representatives from Africa (CAF) and Asia (AFC) will also be confirmed at a later date.
The ongoing status of the AFC Champions League also means that Qatari club Al Sadd's participation is not yet confirmed. The reigning champions of the host nation normally play in the first round, but should a team from Qatar win the Champions League it would change things.
In that scenario, a Qatari club would enter the second round as AFC champions instead and the runner-up of the AFC Champions League would be placed into the Club World Cup first round.
The final will be held on 21 December, but the stadium and time is yet to be confirmed.
Liverpool currently have a Premier League fixture against West Ham scheduled for the same date that would have to be postponed, with manager Jurgen Klopp recently complaining about the enormous fixture demands on his players.
The Reds were narrowly beaten to the 'world champions' title by Brazilian side Sao Paulo, the last time they played in the FIFA Club World Cup back in 2005.