It should come as no surprise that Asia's representatives in the World Club Championships hail from Saudi Arabia - because the Gulf state has dominated the continent's football in recent years.

Money talks in football, and the Saudi game - bank-rolled by oil-rich sheikhs - is on the rise.

The national team qualified for each of the last two World Cups where they did enough as an emerging nation to make an impression on the wider soccer world.

Al-Nassr key men

Coach: Jose Santos Ahmad Bahja, newly-arrived Moroccan goalscorer Fuad Anwar, influential former Saudi skipper Mohsen al-Harthi, steely presence at the back Fahd al-Hraifi, fleet-footed midfield playmaker