FIFA Club World Cup 2012: Bracket, Schedule, Predictions and More

The 2012 FIFA Club World Cup will give football fans an opportunity to watch the champions of all the best club competitions from last season play in a competitive tournament with a prestigious trophy on the line.

As usual, the tournament is headlined by the winner of the UEFA Champions League, which is Premier League club Chelsea.

The Blues are hoping to become the sixth straight European club to win this tournament since it began in 2000. Manchester United became the first and only English club to win the FIFA Club World Cup in 2008.

Let's look at the tournament bracket and schedule and make some predictions for this exciting club tournament.

Teams Participating

Club	Country	Tournament Won in 2012
Chelsea	England	UEFA Champions League
Al-Ahly	Egypt	CAF Champions League
Corinthians	Brazil	Copa Libertadores
Ulsan Hyundai	South Korea	AFC Champions League
Monterrey	Mexico	CONCACAF Champions League
Sanfrecce Hiroshima	Japan	J. League Division 1
Auckland City	New Zealand	OFC Champions League

Bracket/Schedule

Round	Date	Team		Team
Playoff	December 6	Sanfrecce Hiroshima	vs.	Auckland City
Quarterfinals	December 9	Ulsan Hyundai	vs.	Monterrey
Quarterfinals	December 9	Sanfrecce Hiroshima/Auckland City	vs.	Al-Ahly
Semifinals	December 12	Corinthians	vs.	TBD
Semifinals	December 13	Chelsea	vs.	TBD
Final	December 16	TBD	vs.	TBD
3rd Place	December 16	TBD	vs.	TBD
5th Place	December 12	TBD	vs.	TBD

Predictions

As the strongest team in the tournament, Chelsea are my prediction to win the 2012 FIFA Club World Cup.

The Blues' toughest opponent will be Corinthians, who, like the English club, are already in the semifinal. Expect these two teams to meet in the final with another trophy at stake.

Brazilian teams have often done well in this tournament, but the last club from South America to win the FIFA Club World Cup was Internacional (Brazil) in 2006.

Even though Chelsea are struggling in the Champions League, they will be highly motivated to win this tournament because it may be the only trophy that the club wins this season. Obviously, it's still early in the season, but Chelsea must make the most of every opportunity they have to win trophies.

Chelsea have too much attacking quality to be stopped in this tournament. The Blues will win the FIFA Club World Cup for the first time in club history.