Club World Cup 2015 was the 12th edition of the FIFA Club World Cup, a FIFA-organized international club football tournament between the winners of the six continental confederations, as well as the host nation’s league champions. The tournament was hosted by Japan between 10 and 20 December 2015.
Real Madrid, the defending champions, did not qualify for the 2015 FIFA Club World Cup after being eliminated in the semi-finals of the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League. The winners of that competition, Barcelona, went on to claim a record third FIFA Club World Cup title. Barcelona defeated Guangzhou Evergrande 3–0 in the semi-finals and then secured a 3–0 victory over River Plate in the final.
Champions Runners- Up Third Place Fourth Place FIFA Fair Play Award
Barcelona (3rd title)
River Plate
Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Guangzhou Evergrande Barcelona
Club World Cup 2015 awards
Award Player Team
Adidas Golden Ball
Alibaba Cloud Award
Luis Suárez Barcelona
Adidas Silver Ball Lionel Messi Barcelona
Adidas Bronze Ball Andrés Iniesta Barcelona
Club World Cup 2015 Qualified Teams
Team Confederation Achivement Qualification
River PlateCONMEBOL Winners of the 2015 Copa Libertadores Entering in the semi-final
BarcelonaUEFA Winners of the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League Entering in the semi-final
Guangzhou EvergrandeAFC Winners of the 2015 AFC Champions League Entering in the quarter-final
TP MazembeCAF Winners of the 2015 CAF Champions League Entering in the quarter-final
Club AméricaCONCACAF Winners of the 2014–15 CONCACAF Champions League Entering in the quarter-final
Auckland CityOFC Winners of the 2014–15 OFC Champions League Entering in the play-off for quarter-final
Sanfrecce HiroshimaAFC (host) Winners of the 2015 J1 League Entering in the play-off for quarter-final
Play-off for quarter-final
10 December 2015 19:45, JST (UTC+9) | International Stadium Yokohama, Yokohama
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima |
2–0 | Auckland City |
Minagawa  9′Shiotani 70′ |
Quarter final matches
13 December 2015 16:00, JST (UTC+9) | Nagai Stadium, Osaka
| Club América |
1–2 | Guangzhou Evergrande |
| Peralta 55′ |
Zheng Long 80′ Paulinho 90+3′ |
13 December 2015 19:30, JST (UTC+9) | Nagai Stadium, Osaka
| TP Mazembe |
0–3 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima |
| Shiotani 44′ Chiba 56′Asano 78′ |
Fifth place match
16 December 2015 16:30, JST (UTC+9) | Nagai Stadium, Osaka
| Club América |
2–1 | TP Mazembe |
| Benedetto 19′ Zúñiga 28′ |
Kalaba 43′ |
Club World Cup 2015 semi finals
16 December 2015 19:30, JST (UTC+9) | Nagai Stadium, Osaka
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima |
0–1 | River Plate |
| Kalaba 43′ |
17 December 2015 19:30, JST (UTC+9) | International Stadium Yokohama, Yokohama
| Barcelona |
3–0 | Guangzhou Evergrande |
| Suárez 39′, 50′, 67′ (pen.) |
Third place match
20 December 2015 16:00, JST (UTC+9) | International Stadium Yokohama, Yokohama
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima |
2–1 | Guangzhou Evergrande |
| Douglas 70′, 83′ |
Paulinho 4′ |
Club World Cup 2015 final match
20 December 2015 19:30, JST (UTC+9) | International Stadium Yokohama, Yokohama
| River Plate |
0–3 | Barcelona |
| Messi 36′ Suárez 49′, 68′ |
Club World Cup 2015 top goal scorers
Rank Player Team Goals
1 Luis Suárez Barcelona5
2 
Paulinho Guangzhou Evergrande2
3 Douglas Sanfrecce Hiroshima2
4 Tsukasa Shiotani Sanfrecce Hiroshima2
5 Darío Benedetto Club América1
Format change proposed
A proposed change to the FIFA Club World Cup, driven by the Oceania Football Confederation, suggested a new format that would eliminate the knockout rounds for the quarter-finals and play-off stage. In this format, two round-robin groups of three teams would be formed, including two teams from the host nation and the champions of AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, and OFC. The group winners would then advance to the semi-finals to face the champions of CONMEBOL and UEFA. This structure would ensure that all teams play at least two matches, addressing the issue where the loser of the play-off round only plays one match. However, this proposal was not implemented.
