18/06/2025

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Benfica fight back Boca denied by two Argentines in stormy CWC Group C clash

CWC ‘tough’ but ‘beautiful’ for Mamelodi MAMELODI SUNDOWNS coach Miguel Cardoso knows the Club World Cup will be a huge test of his side’s credentials and said making it out of the group stage would be “an incredible achievement”. “I don’t believe there is one single team before the competition that doesn’t believe they can make the next stage,” Cardoso said when asked about his team’s tournament prospects ahead of their Group F clash with Ulsan HD of South Korea. “Obviously for us it would be an incredible achievement to go through the group stage but before we achieve that we need to get points so we need to play a very complete match tomorrow.” Perennial South African champions Sundowns qualified for Fifa’s lucrative new tournament on the back of their record over the last four years in African competitions. However, they travelled to the United States still reeling after losing to Pyramids of Egypt in the final of the CAF Champions League two weeks ago. Putting in a good showing in a group also featuring German giants Borussia Dortmund and Brazilian powerhouses Fluminense would help make up for that disappointment. “I know it’s going to be tough but I expect it to be beautiful,” said the 53-year-old Portuguese Cardoso, who has also coached in France, Spain, Greece and Tunisia. “We need to take it to the limit. There is a ceiling you need to go through at this Club World Cup. “We need to understand what level we are playing at, and now just show what we can do and take the results as they come.” After Sundowns vs Ulsan in Orlando they will head to Cincinnati to face Dortmund this weekend before taking on Fluminense in Miami on June 25. “I am pretty excited to see an African team against an Asian team and am curious to see how we deal with playing Dortmund and a Brazilian team,” Cardoso said. “It’s three different tests and in the end they should all help us develop.” – AFP VETERAN Monterrey defender Sergio Ramos said yesterday his former team Real Madrid must be considered favourites to win the Club World Cup. Paris Saint-Germain recently won the Uefa Champions League by thrashing Inter Milan in the final, with Liga MX side Monterrey faced the Italians in their opener yesterday morning at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. However Ramos, now 39, believes his former club, Spanish giants Madrid, are the real team to beat. “Real Madrid are always favourites in the big competitions,” Ramos told reporters ahead of the Group E clash against Inter. “Real Madrid are the best in the world, for the level the club and players have, for the mentality that’s been sewn in there for so many years.” Madrid have a new coach in Xabi Alonso as well as recent arrivals Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dean Huijsen. “Xabi’s arrival will be interesting, he won it all as a player and he knows how the club works,” said Ramos. “That could help him a lot in this new era.” Ramos said Madrid’s failure to win a major trophy this season was not down to last summer’s marquee signing Kylian Mbappe, whom he played with at PSG. “In the next five or 10 years, I’d wager that Kylian will take four or five Ballon d’Or awards home,” said Ramos. The former Real Madrid captain departed in 2021 and said he would prefer not to face his former side in the United States. “Facing off against your old teammates is always nice but if we won’t meet that would be a lot better – and both them and us can avoid that discomfort,” he added. Real Club World Cup favourites, says Ramos Madrid open their campaign in Miami tomorrow (3am Malaysian time) against Saudi Arabian side Al Hilal. – AFP

FLAMENGO’S dominant 2-0 victory over Esperance de Tunis yesterday will have caught the attention of Group D favourites Chelsea, and suggests the Brazilian side could have a significant impact at Fifa’s revamped tournament. The Brazilian Cup champions next face Chelsea, who beat MLS side LAFC 2-0 earlier in the day, in a mouth-watering clash at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field on Friday that should determine the group winner. It has been over a decade since a European team lost at the Club World Cup but the ease with which Flamengo dispensed with Esperance will give them confidence they can end that run when they face Chelsea on Saturday. Flamengo are unbeaten in over a month and lead the Brazilian league playing a solid brand of football under the calm guidance of former Atletico Madrid defender Filipe Luis. Flamengo midfielder Jorginho: “We enjoyed the goal, and the fans were amazing, as I’ve seen before but now I’m living it. The most important thing is the performance that we did. “I think we controlled the game, we played well and we deserved the win, I think that was the most important thing for us. “It felt really good, because we have great players who understand the game, I feel that we can understand each other very quickly, and it’s going to be a good bond with the group and G OALS from two Argentine internation als denied Boca Juniors victory over Benfica yesterday, as the Buenos Aires side were forced to settle for a 2-2 draw in a stormy Club World Cup Group C clash. An Angel Di Maria penalty on the stroke of halftime and an 86th-minute header from Nicolas Otamendi earned the 10-man Lisbon side a point from a fiercely contested encounter in what was a de facto home game for Boca. The Argentine club had led 2-0 thanks to goals from Miguel Merentiel and Rodrigo Battaglia and looked set for a night of celebration after Benfica went down to 10 men in the 72nd minute. Boca’s midfield buzzed around, they attacked at pace and tackled with aggression. But the physicality was laced with skill too and clever work from Lautaro Blanco down the left created the opening goal in the 21st minute. Blanco cut in from the left flank, nutmegging Benfica defender Florentino and zipping a low ball in which was expertly flicked home by Merentiel. The goal lifted the volume even higher and Flamengo set up mouth-watering Chelsea clash

Boca’s defence failed to pick up Otamendi at a corner kick and the Argentine veteran met Orkun Kokcu’s cross with a thundering header to level the game. A disappointing result for Boca was compounded by a late red card for Nicolas Figal. “We’re left with a bitter taste because we thought we could have won it,” said Boca defender Rodrigo Battaglia. “We gave our all, we competed, we ran… we played the way we needed to, but we’re left with a bitter taste because we didn’t know how to take advantage of having an extra man, and they scored from a set piece,” he added. Di Maria also felt Benfica could have taken all three points from the game. “We tried to win it. We know what Argentinian football is. We knew how we had to play, but in the first half we didn’t play that way. We needed a bit more. In the second half we played much better. We tried to win the game at the end, but we couldn’t quite do it,” said the winger. – AFP

Benfica were struggling to cope – six minutes later they fell 2-0 behind when Ayrton Costa headed towards the back post were the alert Battaglia nodded home from close range. Benfica desperately needed to get a foothold in the game and they were gifted one when Boca’s Carlos Palacios mistimed a challenge on Otamendi and after a VAR review – which included a red card for protesting from the already substituted Boca midfield Ander Herrera – a penalty was awarded. Di Maria gently slotted home to reduce the deficit. Benfica found themselves

further in trouble when Andrea Belotti, a halftime sub, was sent off in the 71st minute. But then with six minutes remaining

Esperance’s Khalil Guenichi (left) and Flamengo’s Giorgian de Arrascaeta fight for the ball during the Fifa Club World Cup 2025 Group D match. – AFPPIC

with the ball. “But in the second half we managed to score the second goal and a great win, three points. Now we have to face the next chapter for this group, Chelsea is a difficult team, but very happy with the win.” – Reuters

everything, so we just need to keep working together and move forward.” Flamengo manager Filipe Luis added: “At the beginning we managed to control the game with possession, then after the first goal we slowed down a bit and that cost us a bit of time

Man Utd CEO Berrada sticking to 2028 Premier League title aim MANCHESTER UNITED chief executive Omar Berrada is sticking to his ambitious target of winning the Premier League in 2028 to mark the club’s 150th anniversary despite a historically bad season for Ruben Amorim’s team. Berrada told staff of his “Project 150”vision in September last year, setting out his aim to win the Premier League and the Women’s Super League (WSL) titles in 2028. energy on that goal,” he said in an interview with the United We Stand fanzine. “Can the team win the Premier League title by 2028? Of course. We’ve just finished 15th and it seems an impossible task. But why not aim for it? Why not do everything in our power?”

Berrada, formerly chief football operations officer at Manchester City, believes a double title success within three years is possible, despite the huge challenges. “It’s establishing a series of targets within a timeframe so we can focus our efforts and

The 20-time English champions endured their worst top-flight campaign since they were relegated in 1973/74, finishing 15th, 42 points behind champions Liverpool.

United, in three years’ time, will mark 150 years since the club were founded as Newton Heath in 1878. – AFP