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CLUB WORLD CUP

PSG thrash Atletico Madrid 4-0 to kick off Club World Cup campaign

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Paris St Germain's Kang-In Lee celebrates scoring their fourth goal with teammates REUTERS/Mike Blake

Champions League winners Paris St Germain crushed fellow European heavyweights Atletico Madrid 4-0 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena on Sunday to get their Club World Cup campaign off to a winning start.

PSG landed the first blow in the Group B clash when Fabian Ruiz fired home from distance in the 19th minute as they showed no signs of rust in their first match since trouncing Inter Milan 5-0 to win their first Champions League title last month.

PSG doubled their advantage just before halftime when an Antoine Griezmann miss led to a counter-attack that ended with Vitinha firing home under sunny skies in Southern California.

The LaLiga side appeared to have pulled one back when Julian Alvarez found the net in the 57th minute but it was overturned after a VAR review determined Koke had fouled Desire Doue in the leadup to the strike, with Atletico coach Diego Simeone sarcastically applauding the decision from the sideline.

The Spanish side’s nightmare continued when defender Clement Lenglet was sent off after receiving a second yellow card and Alexander Sorloth inexplicably missed what should have been a tap-in, instead sending it over the bar.

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Substitute Senny Mayulu added a third goal for PSG in the 87th minute to end any hopes of an Atletico comeback, while Lee Kang-in fired home a stoppage-time penalty to round off the scoring.

PSG will be back at the Rose Bowl on Thursday to face Brazilian team Botafogo while Atletico will travel north to Seattle to take on MLS side the Seattle Sounders.

“The hardest thing to do in football is to maintain the level, not just going high and low,” Vitinha, who was named man of the match, said.

“That’s what I tried to do. Very good performance by the team and a very good start to this competition.”

PSG were without Frenchman and Ballon d’Or favourite Ousmane Dembele, who suffered an injury while playing for France in the UEFA Nations League earlier this month, but they hardly needed him on Sunday.

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They had 74% possession and 11 shots on target compared to Atletico Madrid’s one.

The historic Rose Bowl in Pasadena was rocking thanks to the 80,000 fans who turned out amid the hot midday sun one year before the U.S. will co-host the World Cup along with Mexico and Canada.

“It was a different environment but it feels good to see so many people in the USA here to watch soccer, or to watch football, as I say,” Vitinha added.

-Reuters

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Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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CLUB WORLD CUP

Al-Ahly midfielder Ashour to miss remainder of Club World Cup with broken collarbone

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Al Ahly's Emam Ashour receives medical attention after sustaining an injury REUTERS/Marco Bello

Al Ahly midfielder Emam Ashour will miss the remainder of the 2025 Club World Cup after scans confirmed he had suffered a broken collarbone, the Egyptian club announced on Sunday.

Ashour left the opening match of the revamped competition against Inter Miami, which ended in a goalless draw, in tears after injuring his shoulder.

“Medical examinations on Emam Ashour in a Miami hospital showed he sustained a broken collarbone, and he will miss the remaining matches in the Club World Cup,” Al Ahly doctor Ahmed Gaballah said via the club’s account on X.

Ashour, who had previously suffered a serious shoulder injury while playing for the Egyptian national team in 2024, initially fell early in the game and received treatment on the sidelines before returning briefly and missing a one-on-one chance.

However, the 27-year-old Egyptian Premier League top scorer was unable to continue and asked to be substituted in the 14th minute, being replaced by Ahmed Sayed (Zizo).

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-Reuters

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Bayern Munich demolish Auckland City to kick off Club World Cup campaign

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Bayern Munich's Jonathan Tah in action with Auckland City's Myer Bevan REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach

Bayern Munich began their Club World Cup campaign in emphatic fashion with a ruthless 10-0 demolition of Auckland City on Sunday, as Jamal Musiala marked his return from injury with a brilliant second-half hat-trick in a commanding team display.

Kingsley Coman opened the scoring in the sixth minute, heading home at the far post after a Joshua Kimmich corner.

The Bundesliga champions then took full control with a three-goal burst in as many minutes, as Sacha Boey smashed in a low shot from a Coman pass in the 18th minute for his first goal for Bayern, Michael Olise added a third with a simple tap-in moments later and Coman netted his second in the 21st minute.

Thomas Mueller then made it 5-0 just before the break, volleying in from close range after an Olise assist, and the French winger grabbed his second with a superb curling effort from outside the box.

Substitute Musiala curled a trademark finish into the far corner in the 67th minute, before calmly converting a penalty he earned six minutes later and pouncing on a defensive blunder to score his third in the 84th.

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Mueller also completed his double by sealing the rout in the 89th minute, as Bayern recorded the biggest win in the history of men’s Club World Cups.

-Reuters

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Messi falls just short in Club World Cup curtain-raiser stalemate

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A shot from Inter Miami CF forward Lionel Messi (10) hits the post during the second half against Al Ahly FC during a group stage match of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images 

Lionel Messi drew vast crowds and showed flashes of his brilliance when his Inter Miami side were held to a goalless draw by African giants Al-Ahly as the revamped Club World Cup got off to a festive start on Saturday.

Fans showed up en masse for the Group A clash at the Hard Rock Stadium, home to the Miami Dolphins, but Messi could not fully deliver, his best chance coming through a last-second attempt that was deflected onto the crossbar.

Inter Miami next face FC Porto on Thursday in Atlanta while Al-Ahly, who benefited from raucous, massive support, will take on Palmeiras in New York, where more of their fans are expected to turn up.

No incidents were reported at the game after around 1,000 protesters gathered in the morning near U.S. President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, about 70 miles (110 km) north of Miami, waving placards and chanting slogans as part of coordinated nationwide “No Kings” demonstrations.

In Miami, 60,927 fans almost filled the 65,000-capacity stadium for Inter Miami’s clash with Al-Ahly dismissing, at least on the night, concerns about the attractiveness of the tournament featuring 32 teams for the first time, a year before the World Cup in the U.S.

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Inter Miami, whose home attendances average 20,663 in their 21,550-seat Chase Stadium, have been a major road draw in 2025, regularly attracting record crowds across the country since Messi’s arrival in 2023.

Adan De La Rosa travelled from Mexico just to see Messi play. “There’s a lot of excitement to see Messi, it’s the same for everyone,” he said.

Al-Ahly, backed by dozens of thousands of fans, got off to a strong start but wasted two early chances and Oscar Ustari parried away Trezeguet’s poorly taken penalty kick after Zizo was fouled in the box by Telasco Segovia.

Messi threatened at times after spending some time on the ground after being hit on the knee, but Miami could feel lucky not to be behind at halftime.

Miami, however, stepped up a gear after the break, and Messi came close when his nicely curled 25-metre free kick kissed the post and hit the side netting.

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With six minutes left, the World Cup winner scooped a perfect cross for Fafa Picault, whose header was tipped over the bar by Mohamed Elshenawy.

He came an inch close in the dying second when his curled strike from outside the box was tipped onto the bar by Elshenawy.

The Club World Cup continues on Sunday with Champions League winners Paris St Germain taking on Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich playing Auckland City.

Reuters

 

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