Flamengo arrive in Qatar fully focused on first game

CR Flamengo landed in Doha yesterday ahead of their participation in the FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2019 presented by Alibaba Cloud.
The Brazilian side, who secured qualification by winning CONMEBOL’s Copa Libertadores, will play either Al Hilal in the semi-final on Tuesday at Khalifa International Stadium.
CR Flamengo won their second-ever Copa Libertadores in November, beating Argentina’s River Plate 2-1 in the final, and the team also recently won the Brazilian Serie A title.
Thousands of Flamengo fans are expected to make the trip to Doha.
“This is a competition that brings club champions together and is full of difficult matches. Here in Doha, we’ll represent a nation with over 40 million fans. We’re very happy to play a FIFA Club World Cup and we will try to end this special year with another title,” said team captain Everton Ribeiro.
Should CR Flamengo and Liverpool FC both win their semi-final matches, fans could see a repeat of the famous 1981 Intercontinental Cup, a precursor to the FIFA Club World Cup. On that occasion, CR Flamengo emerged victorious in Tokyo, Japan, beating Liverpool 3-0.
“We’re happy to represent Flamengo and Brazil in a high level tournament here in Qatar. A lot of people are talking about a possible confrontation with Liverpool, but we need to focus on the first game. I’m not interested in anything else at the moment. We have a team to win another tournament, but we need a lot of concentration and work here in Doha. That’s how we won the Libertadores and the Brazilian championship”, said the team’s Portuguese coach Jorge Jesus.
Tickets for the tournament are currently available via FIFA.com/tickets, including to CR Flamengo’s debut in the competition on 17 December. Tickets are affordably priced in three categories, ranging from QR25 for Category 3 tickets to the first three matchdays, up to QR400 for Category 1 tickets for the double-header comprising the third-place play-off and the final.