Rio de Janeiro Dec 5 (IANS) Brazil s Gremio are not thinking about the prospect of playing Spanish football giants Real Madrid in the final of this month s FIFA Club World Cup in the United Arab Emirates according to defender Pedro Geromel.
Copa Libertadores champions Gremio will play the winner of the match between Mexico s Pachuca and Moroccan outfit Wydad Casablanca for the right to play in the final reports Xinhua news agency.
In the other semi-final UEFA Champions League winners Real Madrid will meet either Asian champions Urawa Red Diamonds Oceania s Auckland City or local club Al-Jazira.
"It doesn t help at all to be thinking about the final if we don t win the semi-final " Geromel said of the clash with Pachuca in Al-Ain on December 12.
"There are many recent examples of teams who were expected to reach the final but didn t. We are only preparing for the semi-final " added Geromel who was named in the Brazilian Serie A team of the year on Monday.
South American teams have made the final in four of the last seven editions of the FIFA Club World Cup.
This year s decider will be played at the Zayed Sports City stadium in Abu Dhabi on December 16.
--IANS
tri/bg
