United failed to reach the semis, after drawing with Necaxa 1-1, losing to Vasco da Gama 3-1 and beating South Melbourne 2-0, all in the famous Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro. The format was two groups of four, with the top two teams from each group progressing to the semi-finals. The inaugural tournament took place in January 2000 and featured eight teams - representatives from the six football confederations, plus the 1998 winners of the Inter-Continental Cup (inspiration for FIFA's competition) and the champions of the host nation, Brazil: Manchester United (England, UEFA), Rayos del Necaxa (Mexico, CONCACAF), Al-Nassr (Saudi Arabia, AFC), South Melbourne (Australia, OFC), Vasco da Gama (Brazil, CONMEBOL), Raja Casablanca (Morocco, CAF), Real Madrid (Inter-Continental Cup winners 1998), Corinthians (Brazil, host nation). The Reds previously entered in 1999/2000, when the competition was inaugurated under the title of FIFA Club World Championship.

In all, the following seven teams took part in the 2008 Club World Cup - representing either the host nation or one of world football's six confederations: Gamba Osaka (Japan, host nation) Waitakere United (New Zealand, OFC), Adelaide United (Australia, AFC), Pachuca (Mexico, CONCACAF), LDU Quito (Ecuador, CONMEBOL), Al Ahly (Egypt, CAF), Manchester United (England, UEFA).ĭecember 2008 in Japan was United's second participation in the tournament. The 1-0 win over the Ecuadorian side in the final was the second of two matches United played in the tournament - Sir Alex Ferguson's men also won a semi-final a few days earlier against Gamba Osaka, beating the Japanese side 5-3 with goals from Rooney (2), Nemanja Vidic, Cristiano Ronaldo and Darren Fletcher.

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