MANCHESTER CITY WORLD CLUB CHAMPION !
Manchester City crowned as The World Club Champion!
Goals: Alvarez (1, 88), Nino OG (27), Foden (72)
Man of the Match: Julian Alvarez
- Majestic Manchester thrashed Fluminense FC of Brazil 4-0 in FIFA Club World Cup final in Jeddah Saudi Arabia
- Pep's men won record fifth title.
- City become the first English team to conquer the competition at their first attempt – Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea had failed
- Pep Guardiola outrank Carlo Ancelotti and claim outright-record fourth crown as coach.
- Brazilian club denied their maiden world title
Kicking off the master class performance with a first minute goal, the king of Europe Manchester City thrashed Brazilian outfit Fluminense 4-0 to claim FIFA Club World Cup in Jeddah Saudi Arabia.
It is the fifth title for Pep's men with victories in Premier League, FA Cup, Champions League and Super Cup.
City were the tournament favorites. But, Fluminense had made waves in the tournament defeating red hot Egyptian club Al Ahly. Following a poor form in the Premier League and facing the absence of star sticker Erling Haaland and midfield master Kevin De Bruyne, City were little tentative starting the tournament. But, in the finals they did not look back for a moment. It was City class silky move from the left forced Fluminense custodian Fabio finger tipped a Nathan Ake curler from outside the box on to the post. Ever alert Julian Alvarez chested the ball into the unguarded net.
City doubled the lead when Rodri cannily slipped Phil Foden through and the latter’s centre was inadvertently diverted into the Fluminense net by Nino.
Guardiola's side continued to control the game and they made it 3-0 18 minutes from time. Alvarez was the creator on this occasion, sending in an inviting cross which the on rushing Foden slotted in from close range.
The outstanding Alvarez, who has his very own love affaire with FIFA finals, rounded off the scoring late in the game when he rifled an unstoppable finish beyond Fabio after some sublime close control.
Fluminense we're hardly a match for the professional performance of the team in light blue.
Crowd favourite Marcello's dream to win FIFA World Cup with two different outfits was shattered with ruthless Manchester City performance.
The next edition of the FIFA Club World Cup will be held in the United States of America in June and July 2025 with 32 teams participating.
Match Statistics
Possession
Manchester City 48%
Fluminense 38%
In contest 14%
...
Passes completed
Manchester City 498
Fluminense 419
Shots / on Target
Manchester City 15/8
Fluminense 5/2
Set pieces -
Corners
Manchester City 4
Fluminense 2
Al Ahly claim bronze!
African champions triumph in FIFA Club World Cup play-off for third place after gutsy victory over Urawa Reds.
Urawa Reds 2-4 Al Ahly
Goals: Yasser Ibrahim (19), Percy Tau (25), Jose Kante (43), Alexander Scholz (54 pen), Yoshio Koizumi (60 OG), Ali Maaloul (90+8)
Player of the Match: Emam Ashour (AHL)
African champions, who dislodged the local champions Al Itihad in the earlier rounds
triumph in FIFA Club World Cup play-off for third place after hard fought victory over Urawa Reds of Japan.
playoffs contest at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium was always going to be an open affaire. It proved so in six goals thriller. A missed penalty, mainde goal of the tournament scored on a direct free kick were amongst the highlights. The gutsy performance by the Egyptian outfit supported by ever vocal travelling fans was appreciated throughout the tournament in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Ahly opened the scoring in the 19th minute when Mohamed Hany’s 30-yard effort proved too powerful to hold for Shusaka Nishikawa, with his attempted save sending the ball spinning high into the air before being tapped home by the grateful Yasser Ibrahim.
And the Reds’ misery was doubled when Atsuki Ito allowed himself to be robbed of possession on the edge of his own box, with Ahmed Koka rolling the ball into Percy Tau’s path to smash beyond the helpless Reds' custodian Nishikawa.
The Asian Champions League winners' never say die attitude was evisent in the FIFA Club World Cup too like Japanese national team in the FIFA World Cup Qatar, a year back. Urawa Reds pulled themselves back into the contest shortly before the interval, with Jose Kante despatching a curling volley with the outside of his left boot following a poor defensive header from Ali Maaloul.
And they were back on level terms in the 54th minute with Alexander Scholz calmy firing his penalty straight down the middle after referee Tori Penso pointed to the spot following a VAR review with Mohamed Hany guilty of handball.
However the topsy-turvy contest was settled with Hany going from villain to hero as his strike on the hour mark deflected off the unfortunate Yoshio Koizumi and into the back of the net, before Maaloul missed the opportunity to make the game safe when his poor penalty was held by Nishikawa.
But Maaloul made amends in the eighth minute of added time, curling home a delightful free-kick from the edge of the box to set the seal on an enthralling contest 4-2.