2013-14 CONCACAF Champions League winners Cruz Azul booked a FIFA Club World Cup semifinal spot against Real Madrid with a 3-1 win in extra time over 2014 AFC Champions League winners Western Sydney Wanderers over the weekend in Rabat, Morocco.
Cruz Azul will play Real Madrid in Marrakesh, Morocco, on Tuesday, while 2014 Copa Libertadores champion San Lorenzo (Argentina) will play 2013-14 OFC Champions League winners Auckland City (New Zealand) in the other semifinal on Wednesday.
Playing in waterlogged conditions, with puddles on the field, Cruz Azul went behind in the 65th minute to a terrific strike from Western Sydney's Iacopo La Rocca. A 74th-minute red card to Wanderers defender Matthew Spiranovic, however, allowed Cruz Azul to throw numbers forward in hopes of tying the game. They finally did in the 89th minute when Marco Fabián was taken down in the penalty area, and 35-year-old Gerardo Torrado converted the penalty kick.
In extra time, Western Sydney's Nikolai Topor-Stanley was harshly sent off for a second yellow card (his first, early in the second half, was awarded to him erroneously), and Cruz Azul capitalized once again. Argentine Mariano Pavone got the go-ahead goal in the 108th minute, and Torrado sealed the win with a late penalty kick. Former Montreal Impact midfielder Hernán Bernardello played the full 120 minutes for Cruz Azul.
This is the 11th edition of the FIFA Club World Cup, the 10th in the present format. In the nine Club World Cups contested since 2005 (the first tournament was held in 2001 using a different format), CONCACAF teams are 11-12 overall but 0-5 in the semifinals. Four of those losses were to European opposition, including Liverpool (by Saprissa in 2005), Barcelona (by Club América in 2006, Atlante in 2009) and Chelsea (Monterrey in 2012).
Third-place finishes by Saprissa in 2005 and Monterrey in 2012 are the best results by a CONCACAF team.
The winner of the 2014-15 CONCACAF Champions League will represent CONCACAF at next year's Club World Cup, expected to be held in Japan. D.C. United and the Montreal Impact have qualified for the CONCACAF quarterfinals, which begin in February.
