This is the first time coaches Rafa Benitez and Lamine N’Diaye have faced each other in a competitive fixture.

This is the first time Inter and TP Mazembe have met in a competitive fixture.

Inter will be playing against opposition from the Democratic Republic of the Congo for the first time in a competitive match.

TP Mazembe will be playing against Italian opposition for the first time in a competitive match.

Yuichi Nishimura, born on 17 April 1972 in Tokyo (Japan), will referee the Club World Cup 2010 final. He has been an international referee since 2004 and has officiated 9 times in Asian World Cup Qualifiers (1 before Germany 2006 and 8 before South Africa 2010). He was also in charge of 4 games at the 2010 World Cup Finals in South Africa: France v Uruguay 0-0, Spain v Honduras 2-0, Paraguay v New Zealand 0-0 (all group games) and Netherlands v Brazil 2-1 (quarter-finals). His international refereeing experience includes matches at the 2006 Asian U-17 Championships, the 2007 AFC Asian Cup, the 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup in South Korea, the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations in Ghana, and the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Egypt. In this year's Club World Cup he refereed the quarter-final match between TP Mazembe and Pachuca (1-0).

The six previous editions of the Club World Cup have been dominated by Europe and South America: until now no other continent has had a team involved in the final. The first expanded tournament was in 2000, and the final contended by two Brazilian sides. In 2005 the Club World Cup definitively replaced the Intercontinental Cup (which used to pit the European Cup/Champions League winners against the South American Libertadores Cup champions), but the final continued to be a solely European/South American affair. TP Mazembe have now put a stop to that tradition: they are the first African team in history to be one win away from becoming world champions.

The six previous editions of the Club World Cup have seen Europe and South America share the spoils with three wins each. South American teams (all Brazilian) won in 2000, 2005 and 2006, while Europe's three victories came in 2007, 2008 and 2009 (Italy, England and Spain). So far four finals have been decided in the 90 minutes, one in extra time and one after penalties.

The Nerazzurri are making their first appearance in the Club World Cup in its current format, though they took part in the Intercontinental Cup on two occasions, winning both times. In 1964 they got the better of Independiente: they lost the first game in Buenos Aires 0-1 and won the second in Milan 2-0 so the tie went to a play-off in Madrid, which Inter won 1-0 after extra time. In the 1965 final Inter faced Independiente once more, winning the first game 3-0 in Milan before holding out for a 0-0 draw in Argentina.

Rafa Benitez is taking part in the Club World Cup for the second time having coached Liverpool in 2005: the Reds beat Costa Rican side Deportivo Saprissa 3-0 in the semi-final but were then beaten 0-1 in the final by Sao Paulo.

It was precisely on 18 December, back in 2005, that Benitez lost his previous final: Liverpool were beaten by San Paolo 0-1 with Miniero netting the winner after 27 minutes. To date it is the only final played on 18 December,

TP Mazembe are the only team from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire) to have appeared at the Club World Cup: in 2009 and 2010. Their record so far is 2 wins and 2 defeats, with no draws. In 2009 they were beaten in the quarter-final by South Korean team Pohang Steelers 1-2 and then lost the 5th-place playoff 2-3 to New Zealend side Auckland City. So far this year they have overcome Pachuca (Mexico) 1-0 in the quarter-final and - to the surprise of many - Brazilian outfit Internacional de Porto Alegre 2-0 in the semi-final. The Africans have scored in all 4 games: 6 goals in total.

ABU DHABI - Rafael Benitez's side are world champions after beating TP Mazembe 0-3 in the FIFA Club World Cup 2010 final played at the Zayed Sports City Stadium in Abu Dhabi this evening.

The Nerazzurri certainly put on a show for us this evening. Just minutes into the game, the music was playing, the lights were flashing and the Nerazzurri fans' pulses were racing - Inter were turning on the style. Two teams entered the stage this evening: European champions Inter and TP Mazembe, the first African side ever to reach the Club World Cup final, but there was no doubt about who the masters were, as Inter ran the show from the off. Two goals in four minutes (13 and 17) drew immediate gasps of wonder from the audience and made it clear there would be no fairytale ending for the team from the Congo. Goals from Pandev and Eto'o saw Inter exit the stage in control at the interval, before Biabiany applied the coup de grace in the 87th minute.

FIRST HALF - Maicon returned to the starting line-up and Stankovic was the unlucky man to make way as Benitez opted to start with Chivu at left-back and Zanetti in midfield, while Lamine N'Diaye fielded a 4-1-4-1 formation. FIFA president Joseph Blatter greeted Massimo Moratti and TP Mazembe president Moise Katumbi Champwe on the pitch before the Nerazzurri got the game under way.

The two sides studied each other for the first few minutes, with Inter having more of the ball and Mazembe happy to sit back and defend. In the 9th minute some neat work down the left allowed Mazembe to get the ball into the Inter box, but the Nerazzurri defence closed down the angles and Nkulukuta was forced to shoot from afar, his effort sailing way over. After a nasty foul on Cambiasso had seen Kaluyituka pick up the first booking of the game, Goran Pandev stepped up to finish the Nerazzurri's first magic trick. Some neat one-touch passing from Inter gave Eto'o the space to volley a perfectly weighted ball into the path of the Macedonian, who controlled the ball as he entered the area and placed the ball beyond Mazembe keeper Kidiaba. Just four minutes passed and Inter waved their wand again. Cambiasso found Zanetti in space on the right and the skipper's pull-back from the by-line was dummied by Pandev allowing Eto'o to shoot from the edge of the box, his accurate shot on the turn nestling into the far corner. At 2-0 up, Inter continued to pile on the pressure but were unable to find the third. On 24 minutes a fine ball by Eto'o put Milito through with just Kidiaba to beat, but the Argentinian's finish came off the keeper's foot, hit a defender and went behind for a corner. Mazembe upped their game a little after that and in the 32nd minute Kaluyituka's low shot was smothered by Julio Cesar. Six minutes later Kabangu just failed to get on the end of Kaluyituka's cross. In the 42nd minute it became clear that this wasn't to be Milito's night: Inter's treble hero again found himself clear on goal following a move involving Pandev and Lucio, but his shot under pressure came off the keeper's right foot once more. Cordoba pulled off a great trick down the other end as the first half drew to close, his flying block cutting out Kaluyituka's powerful goalbound effort. The teams entered the dressing rooms after two minutes of injury time with the score at 0-2 and Inter went backstage to recharge their wands.

SECOND HALF - Kanda for Kasongo was the only change made at half time. Four minutes after the restart, Zanetti's foul on the edge of the box gave the Africans a chance to get back in the game. Kabangu took the freekick but his shot was deflected by the Inter wall. Benitez made his first substitution in the 54th minute, replacing Chivu with Stankovic. Maicon may only have just returned from injury but it was as if he'd never been away: a typical rampaging run down the right ended with his shot from a tight angle clipping the outside of the near post via a deflection off Kimwaki (60). From the corner Milito rose well but was unable to hit the target. In the 64th minute Julio Cesar beat Kaluyituka to Kabongo's cross and the ball fell to Kanda, but the Inter defence was able to snuff out the danger. Biabiany was thrown into the fray on 69 minutes, but it was Pandev who came inches away from adding a third when Maicon's cross proved just too high for him. In the 75th minute Mazembe had their first clear-cut chance of the game: Kabongo got a lucky deflection and set Kaluyituka clear on goal, but Julio Cesar produced some magical goalkeeping to charge off his line and win the ball, though Mazembe player was hoping for a penalty. Play continued with both sides looking to score. A neat one-two between Eto'o and Stankovic created space for the Cameroonian to shoot, but his powerful effort was somehow kept out by Kibiada (77). Mazembe replied soon after when Kaluyituka got on the end of Kabangu's cross but Julio Cesar was well positioned and with a sleight of hand pushed the ball clear (80). If that was a chance for the Africans to get back in the game, Biabiany put paid to any lingering hope minutes later when he collected Stankovic's though ball, controlled well and sidestepped the keeper before firing into the net to make it 0-3. Nishimura allowed 3 minutes of injury time before drawing the curtain on the game to let the world champions take their bow. Thanks for the show, lads!



TP MAZEMBE-INTER 0-3
Scorers: 13 Pandev, 17 Eto'o, 86 Biabiany.

Mazembe: 1 Kidiaba; 2 Kimwaki, 3 Kasusula, 4 Nkulukuta, 10 Singuluma, 11 Kabangu, 13 Bedi, 15 Kaluyituka (90 8 Ndonga), 20 Mihayo, 24 Ekanga, 27 Kasongo (45 6 Kanda).
Substitutes: 5 Tshani, 7 Mwepu, , 12 Mabele, 16 Sunzu, 18 Mvete, 21 Bakula, 28 Kanyimbu, 30 Kayembe
Coach: Lamine N'Diaye.

Inter: 1 Julio Cesar; 13 Maicon, 6 Lucio, 2 Cordoba, 26 Chivu (54 5 Stankovic); 4 Zanetti, 19 Cambiasso, 8 Thiago Motta (87 17 Mariga), 9 Eto'o; 27 Pandev, 22 Milito (70 88 Biabiany).
Substitutes: 12 Castellazzi, 21 Orlandoni, 10 Sneijder, 11 Muntari, 23 Materazzi, 31 Alibec, 36 Benedetti, 39 Santon, 40 Nwankwo.
Coach: Rafael Benitez

Referee: Yuichi Nishimura (Japan)
Booked: 12 Kaluyituka, 34 Ekanga, 43 Bedi, 79 Thiago Motta, 84 Kasusula.
Added time: 2 minutes + 3 minutes.

starting lineups

substitutes