JEDDAH: Manchester City shrugged off their sluggish Premier League form to cruise into the Club World Cup final, 3-0 over Urawa Reds on Tuesday, despite missing the presence of Erling Haaland.
Mateo Kovacic and Bernardo Silva struck after Marius Hoibraten’s own goal opened the scoring as City set up a clash with South American champions Fluminense in Friday’s final in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
City have won only one of their last six Premier League matches and fallen behind Arsenal and Liverpool in the title race.
But they were never troubled as an unblemished record for European sides against Asian teams at the Club World Cup was extended to 14 games.
Haaland sat out a third consecutive game due to a foot injury, with the Norwegian facing a race against time to be fit for the final.
However, Haaland still provoked the biggest cheer of the night from the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium when he offered the crowd a wave as he appeared on the big screens during the first half.
Kevin De Bruyne was also absent from the City squad despite making his return to training on Monday from a four-month layoff due to a hamstring injury.
Without their biggest goal threat and creative hub, City lacked penetration and punch for the first 45 minutes despite enjoying over 80 percent of possession against the Asian champions.
Urawa had lost six of their previous 10 games but largely kept the European champions at bay before a self-inflicted blow opened the game up for City on the stroke of half-time.
Guardiola made the surprise call to leave Julian Alvarez on the bench, leaving City without a natural striker in their starting 11.
It took the Champions League winners 30 minutes to even create a clear sight of goal as Matheus Nunes cut inside and blasted a shot goalwards that Shusaku Nishikawa tipped over.
City were slowing building momentum toward the break as Phil Foden was next to test Nishikawa from outside the box.
But they needed a slice of fortune to break the deadlock in first-half stoppage time.
Nunes fired a low cross into the box that Hoibraten turned into his own net under little pressure.
As Urawa tired from chasing the ball in the heat, City were then able to cut loose in the second half.
Kovacic drilled in his first City goal after racing onto Kyle Walker’s pass that cut the Japanese defense wide open.
Both Kovacic and Nunes have struggled to make a meaningful impact since arriving at the treble winners in the summer transfer window.
Nunes should have followed the Croatian’s lead by netting his first goal for the club when he headed a glorious chance wide from Jack Grealish’s cross.
A third goal for City did not take long to arrive as Hoibraten’s bad luck continued when Silva’s shot deflected in off the Norwegian defender.
Silva warned of the heightened risk of injury put upon players by a “crazy” schedule after FIFA confirmed that the Club World Cup will expand to 32 teams and a month-long competition in 2025.
A hugely one-sided contest did little to whet the appetite for many more matches between Europe’s elite clubs and the rest of the world as the financial gulf between the two continues to grow.
European teams are now unbeaten in 21 Club World Cup matches stretching back to 2012.
But a comfortable evening did at least offer Guardiola the chance to rest Silva, Foden, Manuel Akanji, Rodri and John Stones for the closing stages.
Man City ease into Club World Cup final
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Man City ease into Club World Cup final
- Mateo Kovacic and Bernardo Silva struck after Marius Hoibraten’s own goal opened the scoring
- City set up a clash with South American champions Fluminense in Friday’s final in Jeddah
‘The trip of a lifetime’: Chinese supporters travel 30 hours to watch Al-Nassr and Cristiano Ronaldo play
- 5 superfans take dedication to the next level to see their heroes in person
RIYADH: Not many people would travel for 30 hours to watch a couple of football matches but this does not apply to YunXiang Ding and his wife Xutong Guo who are superfans of Saudi Arabia giants Al-Nassr and Cristiano Ronaldo.
The couple are from Changchun, the capital of northeast China’s Jilin province, which is just a few hours from the border with North Korea.
On April 1 — and no, this is definitely not an April Fool’s joke — the couple flew three hours from Changchun to Shanghai, waited eight hours at the airport there, and then boarded a nine-and-a-half-hour flight to Dubai.
At this point, they met up with Xutong’s sister Angie, who travelled from Hong Kong, and met Angie’s husband Simon, who lives in Abu Dhabi, to fly three hours from the UAE to beautiful Abha in southwest Saudi Arabia. Friend Triston Zhao, who travelled from Shanghai, also accompanied the group.
And it was there, at the end of an exhausting but hugely exhilarating and worthwhile trip, that they watched Al-Nassr play Damac in the Roshn Saudi League at the Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Stadium.
Xutong said: “The seats we had in the stadium were very near the touchline and we were close to Ronaldo warming up and when he moved out to the wing. It was the experience of a lifetime. We made a big, handmade poster banner for Ronaldo, and he saw it as he was clapping us walking off the pitch. It was amazing. We were so close to him.”
An injury-time Al-Nassr winner from Aymeric Laporte meant the group truly got to celebrate their trip to Saudi Arabia — but as well as the football, they were also able to appreciate the beauty of Abha. The capital city of Asir province is known for its stunning mountains, greenery, birds and dense juniper forests.
Xutong said: “Abha is so beautiful. The clouds, the scenery — it was more beautiful than the pictures we saw online could ever show. Seeing Al-Nassr play in such a beautiful place was truly special and the Saudi people were so warm and friendly. At the stadium people were asking us for pictures with us, but they said it’s not uncommon for Chinese fans to travel to watch Al-Nassr. Al-Nassr are huge in China.”
Utilizing Chinese public holidays that allowed a 10-day break, the group then flew from Abha back to the UAE, where they watched Al-Nassr play in the Saudi Super Cup in Abu Dhabi. A 2-1 defeat to Al-Hilal, in a match where Ronaldo was shown a red card, failed to dampen spirits about the trip or their love for their adopted team.
Simon said: “We are all big Cristiano fans and started supporting Al-Nassr when he joined — but our love for the club goes beyond him. YunXiang and Xutong in particular are big fans — they watch all the matches at home, and these are often shown very late at night or early in the morning. They have to stay up or get up at various times to watch. People in this part of the world maybe don’t understand how dedicated they are and the lengths they go to watch Al-Nassr. And there are many fans like this in China, Al-Nassr are hugely popular.”
The cost of the trip — inclusive of flights, accommodation and spending money — was “around $5,000 per person,” Tristan said. But each agreed it was worth every penny.
Xutong added: “Cristiano Ronaldo inspires a generation of young people to not give up easily when they face setbacks. He inspires people to be just like him — and even if their efforts sometimes do not lead to a complete perfect ending, the spirit still remains. He is a world-famous superstar and a role model for Al-Nassr and Saudi Arabian football. People may think our trip to see him and Al-Nassr play in person took a long time for travel, but I feel so privileged to have been able to do so. It really was the trip of a lifetime.”
Champions Al-Nassr end women’s Premeir League season on a high
- Celebrations included firwroks display after 1-0 win over Al-Ittihad in Riyadh
RIYADH: Al-Nassr women’s football club, winners of the 2023-2024 Premier League, ended their season on a high with a 1-0 victory over Al-Ittihad on Sunday night.
Al-Awwal Park Stadium was lit up with fireworks as Al-Nassr were crowned champions for a second year in a row, having already won the title last month against Al-Hilal.
Al-Nassr midfielder Lina Boussaha scored the winning goal in the second minute.
Members of Al-Nassr men's team Otavio and Alex Telles were spotted cheering from the sidelines as the team secured the league win.
Fans enjoyed a half-time show with prizes including signed Al-Nassr football shirts.
Espanyol club welcomes Saudi Future Falcons in Barcelona
- Young Saudi team defeats La Liga’s club’s reserve team 3-2 at Dani Jarque Sports City
- Saudi Future Falcons program seeks to provide experience, skill development for teams and players from the Kingdom
RIYADH: Espanyol became the latest Spanish club to welcome a delegation of the Saudi Future Falcons program, with a friendly match between the La Liga reserve team and the Falcons.
The Falcons have returned home after a successful trip which saw them win the match 3-2 at the Dani Jarque Sports City on Wednesday.
The Saudi Future Falcons program is overseen by the Saudi Arabian Football Federation, and aims to provide experience and skill development for teams and players from the Kingdom
CEO of Espanyol Club, Mao Yi Wu, welcomed the Saudi delegation led by the program’s General Manager, Ghassan Felemban.
The meeting between the representatives of both sides marked the first step in a relationship. Espanyol Club, known as a developmental club, nationally and internationally, is looking to generate new avenues of growth through this relationship.
Felemban said that this step is one of the Future Falcons program’s initiatives to enhance relations with Spanish and European clubs.
The program has several partnerships in Spain with clubs such as Real Sociedad, Valencia, and Nastic Tarragona, as well as cooperation with Almeria and Leganes.
It aims to prepare and develop young talents born in 2005 to serve the Saudi U-19 national team, under the supervision of the technical director of the federation, Nasser Laghari, and the program’s technical team led by the Croatian Romeo Gozak.
Saudi Arabia exit 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup, fail to reach Paris Olympics
- A 2-0 defeat to Uzbekistan saw Saad Al-Shehri’s team depart at the quarterfinal stage of competition they won in 2022
DOHA: Saudi Arabia exited the 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup on Friday after a 2-0 loss to Uzbekistan at Khalifa International Stadium in Al-Rayyan.
The defeat means that the Green Falcons, winners of the the last edition of the tournament in 2022, cannot reach the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris — a bitter blow for coach Saad Al-Shehri who had led the team to the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
For Uzbekistan, the win brings a small measure of revenge having lost the last AFC U-23 Asian Cup final 2-0 to Saudi Arabia in Tashkent two years ago.
Uzbekistan took the lead through Khusayin Norchaev two minutes into first-half stoppage time, and Saudi Arabia’s task became harder when Ayman Yahya was sent off on 70 minutes.
Saudi’s 10 men could not find an equalizer, and Uzbekistan put the game to bed thanks to Umarali Rakhmonaliev’s goal on 84 minutes.
In Monday’s first semifinal at Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha, Uzbekistan will face Indonesia, who beat South Korea 11-10 on penalties after their quarterfinal ended in a 2-2 draw.
In the other semifinal, Japan, who beat hosts Qatar 4-2 after extra time, will await the winner of the last-eight clash between Iraq and Vietnam.
Steven Gerrard discusses football, family, future aspirations
- Young boss advises aspiring players to ‘dream big and work hard every single day’
- Former Liverpool legend holds Zinedine Zidane in high regard, labels him as his hero and ‘best midfielder in the world’
RIYADH: Roshn Saudi League side Al-Ettifaq’s manager Steven Gerrard has called on young players dreaming of a football career to “dream big, picture a dream and then work as hard as you can every day to improve.”
The ex-Liverpool legend, in an exclusive interview with the RSL, advised young footballers to “listen to the right people and every day be extremely motivated and dedicated to reach your dream.”
Gerrard, 43, shared his views on Thursday on various aspects of his life and career, giving his opinions on alternative careers, advice for young players, family life, and his views on leadership.
Opening up about other potential career paths outside football management, the former Liverpool captain said: “I’m very much into sport so I would have tried to have stayed in some sport in some capacity and tried to get a job related to football, or maybe related to a different sport. Growing up, all I wanted to do was watch sport on TV, do sport at school, so I’m very sport orientated.
“I think football is about dreams and memories and experiences, so my advice to (youngsters) is set a dream, set a target and then every single day maximize the opportunities to get better, to learn and to grow and to improve your skills, and reach for the stars.”
Gerrard also spoke about his family life, and said: “When I am not at work or at football, I am very much family orientated.
“I have three daughters and one son, so I am always taking them to different places; always playing football in the garden with my son or taking him to football.
“I am probably a taxi or an Uber driver a lot of the time, taking them to school and picking them up from school. I also help with doing homework and if I get a small bit of time to myself, I like to spend it with my friends.”
Having spent his life in football, Gerrard has had the perfect opportunity to see the top world stars firsthand, and he recalls his favorite three players with ease.
He said: “I would pick Zinedine Zidane (as top player) because he was my hero growing up. In my generation, he was the best midfielder in the world, so I’d pick Zidane and also the two others in my generation were Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. They would be the three I’d pick.”
And how would Gerrard himself like to be remembered? He said: “I want to be remembered as someone who gave everything in terms of 100 percent every single day.
“I was loyal, I was a fighter. I wanted to give all my energy and my efforts for the team that I represented and I was a team player, so I want to be remembered for those values.”
Gerrard’s Al-Ettifaq currently sit in seventh place in the RSL and face Al-Raed in their next fixture on April 27.
