Sundowns to play in Qatar in December

Mamelodi Sundowns will play the next installment of the Intercontinental Cup in Qatar in December after FIFA announced that the last three games of the competition would be hosted in the Middle East.

Sundowns will play there on 12 December against the winner of the Derby of the Americas which takes place in Qatar three days earlier on 9 December.

That match pits Mexican club Toluca, who CONCACAF Champions Cup winners against the victor in this year’s Copa Libertadores, which will be decided on 28 November in Montevideo, Uruguay. Argentina’s Estudiantes edged Flamengo of Brazil on penalties on Thursday night to book their place in the final against Palmeiras of Brazil, who were runners-up last year.

Should Sundowns win their semi-final against the Americans champions, they will go to the decider in Qatar on 15 December against holders, and reigning European champions Paris Saint Germain of France.

It will be Sundowns’ third excursion outside of Africa to compete in a major competition. In 2017, after they won their first African Champions League title, they played at the old-style Club World Cup in Japan but were beaten in both matches.

Last year they went to the expanded Club World Cup in the United States where they collected four points in their three group matches and were unlucky not to advance to the knockout stages.