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The 14th edition of the FIFA Club World Cup will begin this week in the United Arab Emirates. Real Madrid are the defending champions after beating Japan's Kashima Antlers 4-2 after extra time last year.
Los Blancos were close to a shock defeat 12 months ago as only a Cristiano Ronaldo penalty took the game into extra time. Ronaldo ended up finishing off his hat-trick in extra time to bring Real their 2nd ever Club World Cup crown.
It promises to be another exciting tournament this time around.
Here's a look at six teams that will challenge Real at the tournament, which takes place 6-16 December.
#6 Al-Jazira
Every year, six continental champions are joined by one team from the host nation. This time it's Al-Jazira, who won the UAE Pro-League title for the second time in their history last season. They won 22 of 26 games, finishing as champions with an 11 gap to their closest rival.
Local star Ali Mabkhout was the main man behind the success, scoring 33 of the team's 72 goals. The 27-year-old has spent his entire career at the club and is well renowned for his turn of pace. He could end up being one of the stars of the tournament if Al-Jazira manages to repeat the success of Kashima, who reached the final last year as a representative of the host nation.
Alongside Mabkhout, former Real man Lassana Diarra, Moroccan Mbark Boussafa and Brazilian Romarinho are the stars of the side. The latter has also won the Club World Cup previously, in 2012 with Corinthians, who shocked Chelsea in the final.
The team is lead by 62-year-old Dutch manager Henk ten Cate. The former Barcelona and Chelsea assistant manager has been in charge since last year. The well-travelled former left winger took the job after a three-year hiatus from management.
#5 Auckland City
Auckland, who meet Al-Jazira in the first match of the tournament on December 6 to decide the last quarter-finalist, is by far the most experienced side in the competition. They are a dominant force in Oceania and this will be their ninth time participating in the Club World Cup.
The side from New Zeland has won the OFC Champions League seven times in a row and they beat local rivals Wellington in the 2017 final 5-0 on aggregate. Ryan De Vries and former Portugal U21 international Joao Moreira both scored two goals, though, the latter has since then left the club.
De Vries is a 26-year-old forward, who has one cap for the New Zealand international team to his name. He's the team's second highest scorer this season with eight goals in five appearances, however, it's 29-year old Argentine Emiliano Tade is leading the scoring charts for the 2nd consecutive year with 10 goals in seven games.
Tade has played in New Zealand since 2009 and he was also part of the Auckland side that finished 3rd at the Club World Cup in 2014. They beat Mexico's Cruz Azul on penalties and as it stands to this day, it remains as Auckland's most successful Club World Cup tournament.
45-year-old Spaniard Ramon Tribulietx is the manager, he's been at the club since 2008, first as an assistant and since 2010 as manager. He was in charge for all of the seven consecutive OFC Champions League successes and the 3rd place finish three years ago at the Club World Cup is one of the greatest achievements in his career, alongside a bronze-medal finish with the Canadian women's team at the 2012 Olympics.
#4 Urawa Red Diamonds
Urawa is taking part in its second-ever Club World Cup; their debut came ten years ago, when they lost to eventual champions Milan in the semis. The two-time AFC Champions League winner will be confident of making the semi-finals again as they meet the winner of Al-Jazira vs Auckland in the quarters.
Urawa, who have won the J-League only once so far, picked up their 2nd Champions League title after beating Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal last month 2-1 on aggregate. Brazilian Rafael Silva scored both goals, the Sao Paulo-born forward is a new signing at the club, having previously played three years for Abirex Niigata.
The J-League season finished last weekend and 'The Reds' ended the campaign in 7th spot with Silva scoring 12 times during the year. It was 31-year-old Shinzo Kiroki who stole the headlines though as he had by far the best season of his career with 20 goals in 33 games.
50-year-old local manager Takafumi Hori is in charge of the team after he replaced Serbian, Mihailo Petrovic back in July. He couldn't save the league season with the team winning only five of 14 games under him, but their run in the Champions League was certainly impressive. They beat J-League champions Kawasaki along the way 5-4 on aggregate after losing the first leg away from home 3-1.
#3 Wydad Casablanca
Wydad is one of three debutants at the tournament; the Moroccan side won the African Champions League in 2016/17, beating Egyptian powerhouses Al-Ahly in the final, 2-1 on aggregate. Highly rated Walid El Karti scored the decisive goal in a 1-0 home win in what was the first time Wydad won the CAF Champions League since 1992.
The 14-times Moroccan champions are mostly made up of local players, there are players from outside Morocco in the squad, but they don't get much game time.
23-year old Achraf Bencharki is the star man of the side as he scored five and assisted two last season in the Champions League and was voted as the tournament's best player.
Former midfielder Hussein Amotta is at the helm, the 48-year-old was hired this year following a sabbatical he took from managerial duties which lasted roughly two years. Before that he had a very successful spell in charge of Al-Sadd, ending the team's 6-year title drought in 2013 and also winning a few Qatari football cups.
The African sides do tend to spring a surprise at the tournament occasionally and it's possible Amotta's team manages to cause a shock as it was Wydad's city rivals Raja who were the last African team to reach the Club World Cup final in 2013.
#2 Pachuca
To start dreaming of a potential final berth, Wydad first has to get past Pachuca. The Mexican club will be making its 4th appearance at the Club World Cup and their best finish was in 2008, when they ended up 4th after losing the 3rd place match to Japan's Gamba Osaka.
Pachuca won their 5th CONCACAF Champions League title back in April, their first since 2010, as they bettered Tigres UANL over two games, eventually running out 2-1 winners on aggregate.
Managed by Uruguayan Diego Alonso, the team features a host of internationals, among them Edson Puch, who won the Copa America Centenario with Chile last year and Keisuke Honda, who's one of the best Japanese players in history.
Honda signed for Pachuca in the summer after four seasons at AC Milan and It would be intriguing, to say the least, to see Honda and Pachuca meeting Urawa at one stage. Among active players, only Shinji Okazaki has scored more goals for Japan.
Pachuca also has some exciting young talent in the team, namely 22-year-old Erick Gutierrez who is captaining the side. The midfielder represented Mexico at the Summer Olympics in 2016 and also at the Gold Cup last summer.
Victor Guzman, who's also 22, was among the MX Liga top scorers this season with eight goals. He also played for Mexico in Rio.
#1 Gremio
Gremio was the final team to seal their place at the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup. They won their third Copa Libertadores title last week, beating Argentinian side Lanus 3-1 on aggregate.
The club that has produced the likes of Ronaldinho, Douglas Costa and Lucas Leiva, qualified for the Copa Libertadores as the 2016 Brazilian Cup winners. On their way to the title, they lost only twice and won 10 of 14 matches, including both in the final.
Former Gremio player Renato Portaluppi is the manager, he started his third spell in charge in September 2016. The former Brazil international played for the side in the 80's and he was part of the team that won Gremio's first Libertadores title in 1983. The same year, he scored both goals in a 2-1 win against HSV in the Intercontinental Cup.
Portaluppi looks like a great mentor for Gremio's current group of players that includes many potential superstars.
Luan has come on leaps and bounds in recent seasons. He's a bit of late bloomer, being 24 and still playing in Brazil, though, it shouldn't take long before he makes his way across the Atlantic. He was voted as the Libertadores best player this year and the successful year also includes a debut for Brazil.
21-year-old Everton, who scored eight times in the Brazilian Serie A this season, could follow Luan soon and Artur, who's also 21, has already been linked with Chelsea and Atletico Madrid.
Among local stars, there's also Lucas Barrios, who might be remembered by older football fans from his time at Dortmund. The Paraguayan has pretty much travelled all over the world and he helped Borussia to consecutive league titles in 2011 and 2012. He signed for Gremio in February.
At the tournament, the South American sides have always been seen as the most dangerous competition for the UEFA Champions League winners.
It will be interesting to see if Gremio's exciting team or any of the other sides can challenge Real for this year's title. The European teams have won nine of the last ten Club World Cups. However, there's never been a side that's successfully managed to defend the title.
