JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia – Egypt’s Minister of Youth and Sports Ashraf Sobhi congratulated Al-Ahly SC for snatching the bronze medal of the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup, hosted by Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah.
They now return home with heads held high after a heroic comeback secured the club a record-extending fourth Club World Cup bronze medal.
Al-Ahly triumph in FIFA Club World Cup play-off for third place following a six-goal thriller against Asian champions Urawa Reds of Japan in the play-off for third place at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium.
The win marks a notable achievement for Al-Ahly, marking the fourth time the team has clinched a top-three finish in the tournament, following their previous successes in 2006, 2020, and 2021.
Ahly stands as the second-most frequent participant in the Club World Cup, trailing behind Auckland City of New Zealand.
Once again that fighting determination of the African champions came to the fore to help them clinch bronze in the most dramatic fashion imaginable.
The African champions didn’t give up until the end. Despite trailing on the scoreboard, they held their ground until the 60th minute.
The Red Devils opened the scoring in the 19th minutes 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 defender Yasser Ibrahim.
And the Reds’ misery was compounded when Atsuki Ito allowed himself to be robbed of possession on the edge of his own box, with Ahmed Koka rolling the ball into South African winger Percy Tau’s path to smash beyond the helpless Nishikawa.
But the Asian Champions League winners 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 Tunisian left-back player 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.
Man City lifts 5th trophy in 2023
Manchester City was just too good and a bit lucky for overmatched Fluminense in the Club World Cup final by winning 4-0 and taking a fifth title in 2023.
It saw them become the first English team to conquer the competition at their first attempt – Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea had failed – and Pep Guardiola outrank Carlo Ancelotti and claim and outright-record fourth crown as coach. The roar from kick-off had barely settled when the fastest goal in the tournament’s history snapped the deadlock. Fabio fingertipped a Nathan Ake curler from outside the box on to the post, and 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 onrushing Foden slotted in from close range.
The outstanding Alvarez rounded off the scoring late in the game when he rifled an unstoppable finish beyond Fabio after some sublime close control.
Victory made Pep Guardiola the first coach to win the Club World Cup with three different teams. He led Barcelona to titles in 2009 and 2011, then Bayern Munich in 2013 with a team that won the Champions League under outgoing coach Jupp Heynckes.
Guardiola celebrated calmly by walking across to console Fluminense coach Fernando Diniz with a handshake and arm on his shoulder.
At the same time, a melee broke out between players in the Fluminense half of the field with 40-year-old defender Felipe Melo involved and confronted by City captain Kyle Walker. Guardiola was later hugging and smiling with Felipe Melo.
Alvarez was alone in the goalmouth to stoop and score with his chest. The Argentina forward´s first action had been to take a sturdy shove in the back from Felipe Melo’s aerial challenge.
The bounce of the ball was unkind again to Fluminense when Nino slid in to block Foden´s pass across the goalmouth, and the ball looped beyond goalkeeper Fabio´s reach. The attack came from a piercing change of pace in Rodri´s pass to Foden.
The final paired clubs that played in their national third-tier divisions as recently as 1999.
City has since become the club with the highest declared annual revenue in world soccer, banking $890 million in its treble-winning 2022-23 season with a salary bill of $530 million. Fluminense has said it expects to earn $74 million this year.
