Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne, and Jeremy Doku will not be part of Manchester City’s quest to win the Club World Cup. All three players were omitted from Pep Guardiola’s 23-man squad for the semi-final against Urawa Red Diamonds, and tournament rules dictate that these players must also be available for the final against Fluminense or the third-place play-off against Al Ahly on Friday, irrespective of the Premier League outcomes.

Haaland, De Bruyne, and Doku traveled to Saudi Arabia with injuries. Haaland, dealing with a stress issue in his foot, missed the matches against Luton and Crystal Palace. De Bruyne, who trained with the squad on Monday, has been sidelined since August due to surgery for a ruptured hamstring. Doku, the Belgian winger, has been in stellar form but missed the last two games due to a muscle problem sustained against Tottenham.

City, currently fourth in the Premier League, are optimistic about the trio’s return in the New Year to strengthen their title challenge. Despite winning only one of their last six games, Bernardo Silva remains confident in the team’s capability to secure a fourth successive Premier League title. Silva cautioned doubters, emphasizing the team’s past success and expressing determination to work towards a positive run.

Guardiola, who has won the Club World Cup twice with Barcelona in 2009 and 2011 and once with Bayern Munich, sees success with Manchester City as a fitting conclusion to their sensational season.