Liverpool vs Flamengo. FIFA Club World Cup Final.
Khalifa International StadiumAttendance45,416.
European champions face the Copa Libertadores holders at the Khalifa International Stadium on Saturday; kick-off 5.30pm GMT
Saturday 21 December 2019 16:16, UK
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp admits winning the Club World Cup will do little to change the attitude towards it back home - but for him and the players it is currently the most important competition.
Klopp was criticised for taking his full first-team squad out to Qatar and leaving behind a hugely inexperienced youth team to get beaten 5-0 by Aston Villa in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup.
However, victory for Saturday's opponents Flamengo in the final will be greeted as the greatest day in the club's history, having already won the Copa Libertadores, Brazilian championship and state championship.
Back in 1981 they beat Liverpool 3-0 in the final of this competition in a previous form but doing so again would be regarded as an even better achievement by fans of the Rio de Janeiro club.
It is a discrepancy Klopp would like to address but accepts he probably cannot.
"The situations are different from Flamengo and us," said the German.
"Flamengo got sent here with a clear order to win it and to come back as heroes, we got told to stay at home and play the Carabao Cup. That is a massive difference.
"When Flamengo go back, and if they win, they will have a proper party - we play Leicester City. That is how it is.
"The view in Europe is different to the rest of the world and I'd very much like to change that.
"Will it (a Liverpool victory) change the view in Europe? Probably not. Liverpool fans want us to win, most of the other fans don't really care.
"We cannot make the competition bigger for us but for us, it is the most important because it is the only game we play tomorrow."
"For us, it feels really special. We feel the tension in the situation but we feel it as a massive opportunity and we want to try it."
Defender Virgil van Dijk was present for Liverpool's training session on Friday morning in Doha with midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum the only absentee.
The Dutch centre-back missed Wednesday's Club World Cup semi-final win against Monterrey with illness - despite being at training the day before.
Klopp admitted he sent the defender back to the team hotel as soon as the media had left the session so his availability for Saturday's final is by no means guaranteed.
Wijnaldum looks certain to miss the final as he is still recovering from a hamstring problem sustained in last weekend's win over Watford.
Goalkeeper Alisson Becker is keen to make history by securing Liverpool's first Club World Cup.
The Reds have played in three previous finals, in various incarnations, in 1981, 1985 and 2005 but came home empty-handed.
It remains the only trophy to elude the six-time European champions and Alisson, who as a Brazilian is well aware of how important the competition is, wants to change that.
"When I was young, at 14, my former club Internacional became Club World Cup champions in 2006 and I watched it as a supporter," said the Brazil international.
"I was so excited at that time. Then I started to dream of this. Now I am here, with this big opportunity to win it for the first time with Liverpool against a big club.
"We are making this big for us. This is important. It is important to make history and put our names in the club as the first time ever that Liverpool won it.
"You can feel how much Flamengo want this. They had more than 10,000 fans on Tuesday (for their semi-final).
"But this is not just big for them. This is big for us also. We want it. We want to win it.
"It is what I love to do - to play football in these moments."
Midfielder Adam Lallana believes winning is an "addiction" and he and the rest of the squad are hooked on securing more silverware.
Victory in the Champions League final in June was followed by European Super Cup success and a run of 16 wins in 17 matches to give Klopp's side a 10-point lead at the top of the Premier League.
They racked up another win, again thanks to a late intervention, in the semi-final against Monterrey to set up the meeting with Flamengo.
"It's like an addiction, you win one medal and you want to win another. You want to win more," said Lallana.
"It's massive. We are European champions and to be World Club champions, there's not many people who can say that. We are going to give it our all.
"I'm sure Bobby and Alisson (Brazilians Roberto Firmino and Alisson Becker) will give us some inside info into them (Flamengo).
"We watched them the other day: they were very dynamic, very aggressive, physical, we will have to recover quickly.
"We are just going to concentrate on ourselves. That's all we ever do. We respect the opposition, we will analyse them.
"It's all about recovery now and (come out) all guns blazing for Saturday. Another trophy is up for grabs at the weekend so bring it on.
"We are here in a final so let's go for it."
And Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson echoed Lallana's thoughts about the winning culture within the squad.
"We have done the first bit by getting to the final and now we want to win it," he said.
"That's the mentality of this team. It was tough (against Monterey); I'm sure it will be tough again on Saturday.
"We found a way to win again in the end. We are there (in the final), where we wanted to be, and hopefully we will find a way to win again on Saturday, too."
You can keep up to date with the final in Qatar with minute-by-minute updates across the Sky Sports website and app via our live match blog, with coverage beginning at 4.30pm on Saturday December 21