The Monterrey vs Ulsan Hyundai match of the FIFA Club World Cup will take place this Sunday, December 9, 2012 (2:00 AM EDT) at the Toyota Stadium in Japan. Monterrey will play their first game of this prestigious tournament in which they will attempt to improve on their disastrous performance from a year ago. They face Ulsan Hyundai from South Korea in the quarterfinals in a math that will be very difficult for the Mexican side considering the run of poor performances by Mexican teams in this Club World Cup.
The team coached by Victor Manuel Vucetich repeats as the CONCACAF champion and will represent that conference a second year in a row. In 2011, they were eliminated by Kashiwa Reysol from Japan in penalty kicks. During the first half of 2012 Monterrey was phenomenal by obtaining 2nd place in the Mexican soccer league and by winning the CONCACAF Champions League. However, in the second semester they were a weak team as they obtained a low amount of points in the Liga MX and were quickly eliminated in the playoffs. Therefore, Monterrey enters this tournament in a worst moment than they did a year ago.
The South Korean side, Ulsan Hyundai, will compete in their first ever FIFA Club World Cup. They won the Asia club tournament by winning six games in a row and therefore they enter the tournament in great form. Their team contains great speed and balance, and they also have Lee Keunho who was voted as the best player in Asia.
Monterrey vs Ulsan Hyundai Prediction
Humberto Suazo suffered an injury in training that could keep him out of the entire tournament. This is a big blow to a team that depends on his goal scoring talent but new signing Omar Arellano could make a good difference. Ulsan is a talented squad but they will play defensively as they have never played a Mexican team. The game will be slow and balanced but Monterrey has experience in these types of games an they will come out victorious. The Monterrey vs Ulsan Hyundai game will end 2-1 for the Mexican squad.
Monterrey vs Ulsan Hyundai Television
The Monterrey vs Ulsan Hyundai match will be televised this Sunday, December 9, 2012 at 2:00 AM EDT on Fox Sports.
