Real Madrid is a heavy favorite to win the FIFA Club World Cup, which is about to get underway in Morocco. Real Madrid is expected to maintain European football's stranglehold on the competition.

The tournament will begin on Wednesday, and in addition to the Spanish giants, there will be six other teams competing for the opportunity to be named the best club team on any given continent.

Here is the information that you require to know:

Which teams are going to be competing?
The 19th edition of the Club World Cup brings together the winners of each of FIFA's six premier regional competitions, in addition to the league champions from the nation that is playing host to the tournament.

Alongside Real Madrid, teams from countries such as Morocco, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Brazil, and the United States will compete in this year's tournament.

The following individuals will be taking part in the event:
Al Ahly, Egypt
Al Hilal, Saudi Arabia
The city of Auckland in New Zealand
Flamengo, Brazil
The Real Madrid club in Spain
Wydad AC, from Morocco Seattle Sounders, from the United States

Real Madrid, Auckland City, Seattle Sounders, Flamengo, and Wydad AC all qualified for the top club tournaments in their respective confederations by virtue of their outright victories in those competitions.

Egyptian runners-up Al Ahly were awarded the spot for Africa in the Club World Cup, despite the fact that the league champions of the host country, Wydad AC, also won the Confederation of African Football (CAF) championship last year.

Due to the fact that they are the current holders of the title in the AFC Champions League, Al Hilal were chosen to represent the region by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The most recent iteration of the competition will not end until after the Club World Cup has been completed.

Where will I be able to compete in the tournament?
The country of Morocco is playing host to the competition for the third time overall.

The last time this competition was held in the country located in North Africa was in 2014, and it was won by Real Madrid, who defeated San Lorenzo of Argentina by a score of 2-0.

The matches for this year will take place at two different stadiums: the Ibn Batouta Stadium in Tangier, which has a capacity of 65,000, and the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat, which has a capacity of 52,000.

How does the structure of the document work?
Ibn Batouta Stadium will play host to the first match of the competition, which will feature Al Ahly taking on Auckland City.

The champions will face off against the Seattle Sounders on February 4th. On the same day, Wydad AC will compete against Al Hilal.

Both Real Madrid and Flamengo will advance directly to the semifinals without needing to compete for a spot. Flamengo's next match will take place on February 7 against either Wydad AC or Al Hilal.

The Spanish giants will compete the day after that against either Seattle Sounders or Al Ahly or Auckland City. The match will take place in Spain.

A playoff for third place will take place before the championship game on February 11. The Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium will serve as the host location for both of these contests.

The format is going to undergo a significant overhaul in the years to come, as FIFA has plans to expand the competition to include 32 teams and hold it every four years starting in 2025.

Who are the most likely candidates to win?
Real Madrid is the clear favorite to win the competition that is taking place this year. The Spanish team is aiming to become the first team in history to win a fifth Club World Cup trophy, making them the clear favorite to do so.

Flamengo, the most popular team in Brazil, might present the greatest obstacle for them to achieve their goals. The team from Rio de Janeiro will be looking to avenge their defeat at the hands of Liverpool, an English team, in the championship game of the 2019 tournament that was held in Qatar.

Europe has provided the champions for 14 of the 18 tournaments that have been played since the first one was held in the year 2000. All nine of the most recent teams to emerge victorious in this competition hail from Europe.

The only region that has been able to hold them back has been South America. However, Brazilian clubs have won the tournament a total of four times throughout its history. The most recent time this occurred was in 2012, when a team from Sao Paulo named Corinthians prevailed over a team from England called Chelsea.

There has never been a champion crowned from any other part of the world in the history of the Club World Cup, which has been played annually since 2005 after a hiatus of five years following the first edition.

Who are the key players that you need to keep an eye on?
Karim Benzema, a seasoned forward from France, and Vinicius Junior, a prodigious winger from Brazil, are two of Real Madrid's most glittering talents and will garner the most attention in Morocco. Real Madrid's array of stars will command the most attention in Morocco.

However, there are several players on opposing teams that you should keep an eye out for as well.
Among them is Salem al-Dawsari, Al Hilal's Saudi Arabian winger. At the most recent World Cup, which was held in Qatar, the 31-year-old player shone, scoring one goal for the Green Falcons in their unexpected victory over Argentina in the group stages of the competition. Argentina went on to win the tournament.

Arturo Vidal, a Chilean midfielder who is 35 years old, will be hoping to show that he is still at the top of his game and lead Flamengo to the club's first-ever victory in the Club World Cup.

It is anticipated that Vidal's teammate and prolific striker Gabriel Barbosa, who is 26 years old, will present a challenge to the Brazilian side up front. To date, he has made 105 appearances for Flamengo and has scored 65 goals for the club. He scored the goal that won the Copa Libertadores championship for Flamengo in 2022 against Athletico Paranaense.