Tag: Club World Cup

Real Madrid could be without striker Kylian Mbappe for their Club World Cup opener against Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal after the Frenchman missed training due to illness.

New head coach Xabi Alonso will make his debut on the Real bench for the Group H match at Hard Rock Stadium and could be without several regulars.

Defender Antonio Rudiger and the versatile Eduardo Camavinga are also likely to miss out against the Saudi team.

“Kylian Mbappe was feeling a little better this morning, but not enough. It’s very hot and it was better that he didn’t train. But we will wait until the last moment. Tomorrow morning we will decide,” said Alonso.

“Rudiger made a brutal effort this season, and I don’t know if he will be called up tomorrow, but he is progressing well and will be the first to return. Camavinga is also improving quickly, but he needs time,” he added.

Al Hilal will also have a new coach on the bench with Italian Simone Inzaghi having joined after leading Inter Milan to the Champions League final.

Alonso said the change of coach means that it is difficult to know what to expect from Wednesday’s opponents.

“We have to prepare for the game in the best possible way. They will be a tough opponent, without a doubt. But it’s time to focus on ourselves. They haven’t made their debut with Inzaghi yet, so we don’t know how they will play.

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“We have to have hunger to win, to compete, to want to play well. We have to mix a lot of things, but that self-love, that feeling of team, that defending the badge… The team already has it, but we have to work on it. We must be a team,” he said.

Alonso was asked about the right-back position where Dani Carvajal faces competition from new arrival Trent Alexander-Arnold, who has joined from Liverpool.

“It is a privilege to have such top players. Trent is more flexible in positions, but Carva has a lot of personality and competitiveness. The initial impact of Trent has been very good.”

Alonso was quizzed for his opinions on several players and, unsurprisingly, was upbeat about his squad, suggesting that England’s Jude Bellingham may be more effective in a central midfield role than in the more advanced position he has sometimes operated in.

“Jude has the ability to cover a lot of the pitch. He has the soul of a midfielder, he likes to participate, but he has the great quality to arrive. The important thing is the starting point. Finding him in the right places is going to help us because he has impressive qualities,” he said.

Alonso will get a brief spell to enjoy working with Croatian midfielder Luka Modric before the 39-year-old leaves the club.

“It’s easy with him. We always had a great relationship, friends and now coach-player. I like his relationship with the younger ones; he is a very good influence. We want to enjoy him in these weeks. He’s a player of the era, being able to squeeze him a little more will be a luxury,” he said.

READ: Fluminense open Club World Cup with draw against Dortmund

Borussia Dortmund were held to a 0-0 draw by Fluminense at the Club World Cup on Tuesday, as Brazilian teams maintained their unbeaten record so far in the competition.

Rio de Janeiro powerhouses Fluminense were the more dangerous team throughout the Group F game played at the Metlife Stadium in East Rutherford, just outside New York City.

However, Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel turned a Jhon Arias shot around the post in the first half, before Matheus Martinelli drilled an effort narrowly wide.

Fluminense — captained by 40-year-old former Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea defender Thiago Silva — were a threat on the break throughout and should have scored at the end of a counter midway into the second half, but Agustin Canobbio shot straight at Kobel.

The Dortmund goalkeeper then produced a fine save low down to deny Everaldo as the club world cup match ended in stalemate.

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Fluminense qualified for the tournament by virtue of their triumph in the Copa Libertadores in 2023.

Their performance against a European heavyweight, UEFA Champions League finalists last year, is further evidence that Brazilian teams can hope to make a real impact in FIFA’s new-look competition.

Their great rivals Flamengo beat Esperance of Tunisia 2-0 on Monday and face Chelsea next.

Palmeiras drew 0-0 with Porto in their opening game while Botafogo, the reigning Brazilian and South American champions, defeated Seattle Sounders of MLS 2-1 on Sunday.

Dortmund, who gave a debut off the bench to teenage English midfielder Jobe Bellingham following his recent arrival from Sunderland, did not seriously threaten until a late Niklas Suele long-ranger.

The Germans will hope to get their first win in the Club World Cup when they play Mamelodi Sundowns next.

Sundowns, of South Africa, take on Ulsan HD of South Korea in the day’s other Group F match in Orlando.

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Chelsea kicked off their Club World Cup campaign with a solid 2-0 victory over Los Angeles FC on Monday in Group D, although there were nearly 50,000 empty seats in the stadium in Atlanta.

Pedro Neto and Enzo Fernandez’s goals got the Blues off to a good start in a competitive clash against one of the three qualified MLS teams.

New signing Liam Delap made his debut as a substitute and helped set up Fernandez’s strike, with Chelsea hoping to reestablish themselves among the elite after their UEFA Conference League triumph and Champions League qualification.

Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca said it was a “very good result” and was happy with Delap’s display.

“The good thing about Liam is he knows the way we want to play, so the process is quite quick,” said the Italian.

After a solid start to the tournament regarding attendance numbers over the opening weekend, a sparse crowd of just over 22,000 settled in at the stylish 71,000-capacity Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

“The environment was a bit strange, the stadium was almost empty, not full,” Maresca told reporters.

Behind former Tottenham Hotspur stopper Hugo Lloris’ goal in the first half, a couple of hundred LAFC ‘ultras’ helped provide an atmosphere with a drum beat and constant song.

The closed stadium roof offered refuge from the Georgia humidity and mid-afternoon summer sun, which Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Atletico Madrid stars roasted under on Sunday at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

However, the attendance suffered badly because of the 3:00 pm local time kick-off.

Despite regular strong crowds for MLS side Atlanta United, the best supported US team, few locals decided to take a Monday off work for the tournament’s first weekday afternoon game, seemingly chosen to suit a British television audience.

After beating Club America in a play-off to qualify for the competition as late as May, LAFC took the place of the banned Mexican side Club Leon, and play none of their three group games at home in California.

The top ring of the stadium was entirely shut, and other levels were only partly filled, despite ticket prices dropping in the days ahead of the game.

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It was the first real blow for organisers of FIFA’s expanded competition, which is also being viewed as a trial run ahead of the 2026 World Cup, hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico.

Chelsea took control from the start, with Lloris saving from Nicolas Jackson and Noni Madueke, while Cole Palmer whistled a strike narrowly over.

With new signing Delap looking on from the bench, Jackson played like a man determined to keep his starting spot.

The striker was instrumental in Neto’s opener, releasing the Portuguese winger with an excellent through ball.

Neto chopped in the box to leave LA defender Ryan Hollingshead stumbling helplessly out of sight and then buried a powerful strike past Lloris, low at the near post.

Former Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud came on at half-time for the Americans, and Steve Cherundolo’s team improved in the second half.

Jackson came close with a header, and LA almost levelled, but Sanchez made a fine save with his outstretched leg to thwart 2023 MLS Golden Boot winner Denis Bouanga after he shook off Neto.

Maresca brought on 22-year-old striker Delap for his Chelsea debut after the hour mark, having begun the game with all of the club’s new faces on the bench.

The forward drove into space and tried to tee up Fernandez with a promising first move in a Chelsea shirt since his arrival from relegated Ipswich Town.

Chelsea star Palmer, who had shown occasional flashes of brilliance, hammered over before Fernandez grabbed Chelsea’s second.

Running into the six-yard box, the Argentine midfielder controlled Delap’s cross from the right and beat Lloris to put the game to bed.

“Regarding crowds, I think it’s kind of different each game you look at so I don’t think we should be talking about this right now,” said LA coach Cherundolo.

“I think we should wait until the end of the tournament…(to make) an opinion about it as a whole, as opposed to one game.”

READ: Bayern Munich beat amateurs Auckland City 10-0 at the Club World Cup

Jamal Musiala came off the bench to score a hat-trick as Bayern Munich mauled amateurs Auckland City of New Zealand 10-0 in their opening game at the Club World Cup on Sunday.

Kingsley Coman, Michael Olise and Thomas Mueller all netted twice, while Sacha Boey was on target too for the German champions in the game in Group C, which also features Boca Juniors and Benfica.

Harry Kane started but didn’t get on the scoresheet before being replaced just after the hour mark by Musiala, who netted his three goals in the space of 18 minutes towards the end.

It was a stroll in the park in the midday sun in Cincinnati for Bayern Munich, with France winger Coman scoring twice in the opening 21 minutes on either side of goals by compatriots Boey and Olise.

Coman’s sixth-minute breakthrough goal was the first of the tournament following the 0-0 draw between Inter Miami and Al Ahly in Saturday’s opening game.

Mueller got the fifth, and Olise’s second of the afternoon made it 6-0 in first-half stoppage time for the Bundesliga heavyweights.

Olise’s strike for the sixth was the pick of the day’s goals, as he came in from the right before curling a shot on his left foot into the far corner.

Auckland City managed to stem the tide for much of the second half before Musiala came on and took centre stage, his three goals including one from the penalty spot after he had been fouled.

Mueller, who will leave Bayern after the tournament, made it 10-0 in the 89th minute with his 250th goal for the club.

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The result confirmed the enormous gulf between one of Europe’s giants and an Auckland side who have won the Oceania Champions League 13 times but whose amateur players had to take unpaid leave to travel to the United States for the tournament.

“This is the reality of football against one of the world’s top teams,” admitted City’s interim coach, Ivan Vicelich.

“It is a dream for players coming from an amateur level to play in this environment.

“We knew it was going to be a very difficult game, playing against one of the top teams in the world, potentially one of the favourites for the Club World Cup, so we are just really proud of the players’ efforts.”

However, the result made it an ideal start for Bayern Munich, who won the Club World Cup twice in its former seven-team guise, in 2013 and 2020.

They have recorded bigger victories in the past in the German Cup, but the 10-goal winning margin equals their best ever in the Bundesliga, when they beat Borussia Dortmund 11-1 in 1971.

Bayern, who gave new signing Jonathan Tah a debut in central defence following his recent arrival from Bayer Leverkusen, play Boca in their next match in Miami on Friday.

Auckland City take on Benfica earlier the same day in Orlando.

READ: PSG register dominant win over Atletico Madrid in Club World Cup

Newly crowned European Champions Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) launched their bid for Club World Cup glory with a convincing 4-0 victory over Atletico Madrid on Sunday.

In searing heat at the Pasadena Rose Bowl east of Los Angeles, PSG proved too hot to handle for their Spanish opponents in an impressive opening Group B win.

Goals from Fabian Ruiz, Vitinha, Senny Mayulu and Lee Kang-In sealed the three points for PSG, who delighted a crowd of 80,619 with their adventurous attacking play in temperatures that reached 31 degrees Celsius (87.8 Fahrenheit) shortly after kick-off at midday local time.

“We did very, very well in difficult conditions,” PSG goalscorer Vitinha said. “It was a good victory to start the competition.”

PSG coach Luis Enrique said the heat “had an impact on the game.”

“The rhythm of our play was a bit lower than usual, but we were better,” Enrique said. “We trained at such a high level; this team loves to compete, and we are ready to go as far as possible.”

Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone refused to blame the heat for his team’s struggles.

“I cannot blame it on the heat — we both played in the same weather conditions,” Simeone said. “They played much better than we did. They have amazing players, and that’s why they’ve just won everything.

“We played better in the second half. But Paris Saint-Germain is a wonderful team, and they played a wonderful game.”

The French giants picked up where they had left off in their 5-0 Champions League final mauling of Inter Milan a fortnight earlier, quickly settling into their smooth passing game to control the early exchanges before taking the lead in the 19th minute.

A lovely passing move down the right saw the ball swiftly transferred to Georgian winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who deftly laid off into the path of Ruiz to sweep in a low finish for 1-0.

With Atletico struggling to gain any kind of a foothold in the contest, the Spanish side’s frustration began to show.

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Clement Lenglet was booked for a rash challenge on Moroccan international Achraf Hakimi in the 21st minute, and Robin Le Normand picked up Atletico’s second yellow soon afterwards for bringing down Ruiz.

Ruiz himself was booked on 28 minutes for a shove on Giuliano Simeone before the Argentine midfielder collected Atletico’s third yellow soon afterwards.

With the Parisians in complete control, Atletico had to wait until the stroke of half-time before their first shot on goal, France’s Antoine Griezmann drawing a smart save from Italy international Gianluigi Donnarumma with a low shot.

From the ensuing counter-attack, however, Atletico found themselves 2-0 down.

The electric Kvaratskhelia again found space down the left and fed inside to Vitinha, who ghosted into the box before steering a crisp shot beyond Jan Oblak for 2-0.

Atletico appeared to have hauled themselves back into the game early in the second half when Julian Alvarez rifled home a low finish to make it 2-1.

But the goal was chalked off after VAR spotted a bodycheck by Argentine midfielder Rodrigo De Paul on Desire Doue in the build-up.

That effort appeared to buoy Atletico for the remainder of the half, but despite playing with greater intensity, they were unable to create a single shot on goal.

Lenglet was dismissed after picking up a second yellow card in the 78th minute.

A disappointing Atleti display was summed up by a glaring miss four minutes later, substitute Alexander Sorloth somehow scooping over an open goal from a few yards out after Marcos Llorente’s cross.

PSG swiftly made Atleti pay for that miss, substitute Senny Mayulu pouncing on a loose ball to make it 3-0 in the 87th minute. The rout was completed in injury time when Lee stepped up to convert a penalty after a handball by Le Normand.

PSG will face Brazil’s Botafogo in their next group match in Pasadena on Thursday, before completing the first round against Major League Soccer’s Seattle Sounders on June 23.

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Cristiano Ronaldo confirmed he would not play in the upcoming Club World Cup on Saturday, dismissing rumours he was set to transfer to one of the participating clubs.

Speaking ahead of Sunday’s Nations League final against Spain in Munich, the Portugal captain said suggestions he was set to take part in the newly expanded competition were wide of the mark.

“I will not be at the Club World Cup,” the Portugal veteran said, but added he had “been contacted” by several participating teams.

Ronaldo came into the Nations League in Germany amid swirling doubts about his future at club level, with the veteran’s contract at Saudi side Al-Nassr set to expire at the end of June.

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In May, the Portuguese posted on social media “the chapter is over” as reports emerged he could switch to another club, potentially Saudi side Al Hilal, one of the teams who will be at the tournament in the United States in June.

Cristiano Ronaldo said he was not interested in making a short-term decision which would allow him to play in the competition.

“Some teams reached out to me. Some made sense and others did not, but you can’t try and do everything, you can’t catch every ball.”

The forward said the decision on his future was “almost final”.

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Manchester City won the Club World Cup for the first time to end 2023 with five trophies after a 4-0 win over Fluminense in Jeddah on Friday.

City’s victory extended European clubs’ domination of the competition since 2012 and was never in doubt once Julian Alvarez opened the scoring inside the first minute.

Nino’s first-half own goal realistically ended the Brazilians’ dreams of an upset, before Phil Foden and Alvarez rounded off the scoring in the final 20 minutes.

After clinching the treble of the club’s first ever Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup last season, Manchester City also lifted the UEFA Super Cup for the first time in August.

Pep Guardiola also made history as the first coach to lift the Club World Cup on four occasions and with three different clubs after previously winning the competition twice at Barcelona and once in charge of Bayern Munich.

“To win the treble was truly special, but to win two more trophies and now hold these five major titles shows the unique mentality of this team,” said Guardiola.

“As a manager it is what I am most proud of: that we are always there. No matter how much we win, no matter what trophies we lift, we are there again to fight for the next one.”

City’s poor Premier League form before flying out to Saudi Arabia had raised Fluminense hopes that Guardiola’s men could be vulnerable.

But the growing chasm between Europe’s elite clubs and the rest of the world thanks to huge financial imbalances in the global game was instead exposed.

European clubs have won 22 consecutive games at the Club World Cup.

Manchester City laboured for 45 minutes to break down Japan’s Urawa Reds in the semi-final before cruising to a 3-0 win.

This time, they needed less than 45 seconds.

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Alvarez scored the fastest goal ever in a Club World Cup final as he chested into an unguarded net after Nathan Ake’s shot came back off the post.

At just 23, the Argentine added to his remarkable haul of silverware that includes the World Cup and Copa America at international level, the Copa Libertadores during his time at River Plate, plus Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and UEFA Super Cup medals during just over a year at City.

Fluminense were then dealt the killer blow when captain Nino turned Foden’s cross into his own net after Rodri’s pass opened up the Brazilian defence.

Ederson was called into action to maintain City’s two-goal lead before the break as the Brazilian international made a stunning save from Jhon Arias’ header.

But his opposite number Fabio was the busier goalkeeper. The 37-year-old kept the score down and saved Fluminense’s blushes.

Fabio turned Jack Grealish’s fiercely struck effort behind before half-time and twice denied Foden early in the second half.

City were able to coast through the second period to end a glorious year on a high, but victory could come at a cost.

Rodri was forced off with an injury 20 minutes from time. City have lost all three Premier League games this season when the influential Spanish midfielder has been absent and they travel to in-form Everton on December 27.

However, that did not take the shine off a marquee 12 months that marks the high-point in a trophy-laden 15 years since City’s fortunes were transformed by a takeover from Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Alvarez was the creator for Manchester City’s third as Foden slid in to meet his driven cross.

And the man deputising for the injured Erling Haaland rounded off the scoring two minutes from time with his 10th goal of the season.

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