The field is taking shape and, before you know it, December will be upon us with the FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2019 ready for action.

While the journey to the Gulf state began for the likes of Liverpool almost exactly a year ago, with a 3-2 win over Paris Saint-Germain back in September 2018, it wasn’t until April of this year that the line-up truly started to take shape.

We take a look back at how we got here, and where we still have to go, on the road to seeing the latest name etched into the history of the Club World Cup.

Having secured a 2-2 draw with fellow title-chasers Al Duhail the weekend before, Al Sadd sewed up the Qatar Stars League title in style as Baghdad Bounedjah’s hat-trick helped them to a 7-2 victory over Al Ahli.

It wasn’t until they ended Al Duhail’s journey in the AFC Champions League four months later – ensuring they were the sole Qatar side still in the running – that their ticket as national champions was officially stamped, though.

Having emphatically seen off Sporting Kansas City in the Concacaf Champions League semi-finals, Monterrey locked horns with Tigres UANL in an all-Mexican, two-legged final to secure their seat. Nicolas Sanchez ultimately proved the hero, striking in either leg to secure an aggregate 2-1 victory to see Monterrey equal Pachuca’s record of four Club World Cup visits.

Never before had an OFC Champions League not featured a New Zealand side. But, after Auckland City and Team Wellington tumbled out in the semis, it was left to New Caledonian duo of Magenta and Hienghene Sport to battle for the title. Hienghene clinched a slender 1-0 win to became the first OFC participant at the Club World Cup not from New Zealand since Hekari United in 2010.

The two-legged CAF Champions League final saw Wydad Casablanca and Esperance de Tunis meet in a re-run of the 2011 climax. After a 1-1 draw in the first leg, the second was abandoned with Esperance leading 1-0, with Esperance being awarded the win.

Having been beaten 3-0 by Barcelona in the Camp Nou, Liverpool’s UEFA Champions League hopes looked all but dashed as they returned to Anfield for the semi-final second leg. However, an unbelievable 4-0 win propelled them to Madrid to face fellow English side Tottenham Hotspur. Once at the Wanda Metropolitano, Mohammed Salah and Divock Origi struck at either end of the game to hand them a sixth European title.

All eyes were on Zurich when the world title-chasing hopefuls discovered their routes to glory, with the draw presenting us with an intriguing Africa meets Asia in the quarter-finals.

The climax of the Copa Libertadores is set to be a unique one in its history, being the first to be contested over a single game. Set for Santiago, Chile, it’s almost certainly set to be a fierce affair, with a guaranteed meeting between Argentinian and Brazilian heavyweights on the cards.

The following day we’ll see the line-up completed, as the AFC Asian Champions League winners are crowned in the second-leg of the east versus west final.

The FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2019 will kick off in intriguing fashion with debutants Hienghene Sport taking on national champions Al Sadd, unless the side led by two-time club World Cup winner Xavi see themselves crowned continental champions. In that scenario, Asia’s runners up will face the New Caledonians.

Having not seen it since 2014, we are guaranteed a new winner lifting the title this year. After Real Madrid clinched the last three, fresh hands will be raising the trophy aloft for the first time since Los Blancos saw off San Lorenzo in Morocco.