CLUB WORLD CUP
Al Ahly and Porto share 4-4 thriller but head to Club World Cup exit
Al Ahly and Porto shared a 4-4 thriller in their final game at the Club World Cup on Monday, but both will head home after Inter Miami and Palmeiras drew to progress to the round of 16 from Group A.
Palestine striker Wessam Abou Ali scored a hat-trick, and Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane also found the net for the Egyptian champions, but Porto pegged them back every time they went ahead.
Teenagers Rodrigo Mora and William Gomes, substitute Samu Aghehowa and Pepe all scored for the Portuguese club as both teams all but abandoned defending in search of goals that might keep them alive in the tournament.
In the end, though, a draw was not enough for either side and the 2-2 stalemate between Inter and Palmeiras in Miami was enough to render all of the many other permutations null and void.
“I’m very sad, very, very sad,” said Abou Ali. “I feel like we should have scored maybe five, six goals in the end, the opportunity was there to at least win the game and score some goals.”
Both teams came into the match played in suffocating heat at Metlife Stadium without a goal from open play in the tournament but they made up for it in a sometimes frenetic contest.
Al Ahly took the early initiative and got their reward when Abou Ali gave them the lead in the 15th minute with a cool finish into the far corner of the net
Lively 18-year-old Mora equalised eight minutes later after skipping through the Al Ahly defence and past goalkeeper Mohamed El-Shenawy before clipping the ball into the net.
Egypt midfielder Zizo was brought down in the box by Fabio Vieira running onto an Abou Ali cutback in stoppage time at the end of the first, and the Palestinian sent Claudio Ramos the wrong way from the spot to put Al Ahly 2-1 up at the break.
Three goals in three minutes soon after the break had the scores back level at 3-3 in the 53rd minute, Gomes starting it all off by curling a beautiful shot into the top right-hand corner of the net.
Abou Ali then completed his hat-trick with a powerful header from a corner but Aghehowa responded in kind almost immediately down the other end.
FC Porto’s Samu Aghehowa reacts after the match REUTERS/Susana Vera
Ben Romdhane put Al Ahly back in front with a lovely strike from the edge of the box in the 64th minute and the Egyptian side poured forward looking to boost their goal difference in case the result in Miami went their way.
Al Ahly missed a host of gilt-edged chances, however, and Pepe ensured the honours would be shared when he drilled a shot from the edge of the box past Al Ahly captain El-Shenawy a minute from time.
“I think the game in the second half was not a normal football game anymore,” said Al Ahly coach Jose Riveiro.
“A good show for the fans, I guess, a lot of goals. Not the result, obviously, that we were looking for, because we wanted to go through.”
-Reuters
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
Controversy has erupted following Chelsea’s dramatic victory over Paris Saint-Germain in the FIFA Club World Cup final, with reports suggesting that the trophy presented to the English club is a replica – and that the original remains in the possession of U.S. President Donald Trump.
The Blues clinched the inaugural edition of the revamped tournament at the MetLife Stadium on Sunday, July 13, with captain Reece James receiving the silverware from Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
However, social media and the international press have been ablaze with claims that the trophy lifted during the celebrations was not the authentic one.
Videos from the post-match ceremony showed Trump lingering on the podium well after the presentation, standing beside James as he hoisted the trophy. This unusual move immediately drew attention.
Now, the intrigue has deepened following Trump’s own remarks in an interview with sports broadcaster DAZN, in which he admitted that the original trophy was currently “in his office at the White House.”
According to sources, Infantino unveiled the redesigned Club World Cup trophy at the White House shortly after Trump returned to office earlier this year, following his election win over Kamala Harris.
It now appears that the original trophy never left the presidential residence, prompting FIFA to commission a replica for the ceremony in New Jersey.
Adding fuel to the fire, Trump was also seen pocketing one of the winner’s medals during the event.
Infantino had handed him a medal, presumably for inspection, but the U.S. President was later spotted slipping it inside his blazer.
This led to online jokes among fans, with some suggesting he had taken the medal intended for Chelsea winger Noni Madueke, who left the squad just before the final to complete a surprise move to Arsenal.
Madueke was reportedly seen partying with Jadon Sancho at the Wireless Festival in London while Chelsea celebrated across the Atlantic.
The incident has cast an odd shadow over what was otherwise a historic moment for Chelsea, marking their first triumph under the new Club World Cup format.
With the 2026 FIFA World Cup set to take place in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada, and the final returning to MetLife Stadium, questions may linger over the relationship between football’s global leadership and its most controversial political host.
FIFA has yet to comment officially on the trophy replica claims.
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
U.S. President Donald Trump paid homage to soccer great Pele after being met with boos and cheers from the crowd at the Club World Cup final on Sunday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Chelsea walloped Paris St Germain 3-0 to close out the newly expanded version of the tournament, designed as a glittering curtain-raiser for the 2026 World Cup that the U.S. will co-host with Mexico and Canada.
Trump was seated next to FIFA boss Gianni Infantino in box seats at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, where fans booed him when he appeared briefly on the jumbotron during the U.S. national anthem.
He was on his feet in the same VIP suite after Chelsea completed their thrashing of Paris St Germain, pumping his fist as congratulatory music blared.
Trump was met with boos from the crowd again as he posed with the match referees on the pitch during the trophy ceremony, as organisers kept the music pumping in the stadium.
He handed Chelsea their trophy and stood in the middle of the players for their team photo and celebration.
“I knew he was going to be there but I didn’t know he was going to be on the stand when we lifted the trophy so I was a bit confused,” said Chelsea midfielder Cole Palmer, who scored two goals during the match.
Asked in a TV interview who he believed was soccer’s “GOAT,” Trump named Brazilian icon Pele, who helped spark interest in the sport in the U.S. in his brief time playing for the New York Cosmos in the fledgling North American Soccer League in 1975.
“I came to watch Pele, and he was fantastic,” Trump told broadcaster DAZN. “That’s like saying Babe Ruth, but I would say Pele was so great.”
Trump has embraced sport’s super-sized spotlight during his second term, becoming the first sitting president to attend a Super Bowl in February.
In May, he announced D.C. as the host for the 2027 NFL Draft from the Oval Office. He regularly attends UFC and has said he wants to host such fights at the White House next year.
FIFA announced last week that it had opened an office in New York’s Trump Tower ahead of the 2026 World Cup, which the U.S. will co-host with Canada and Mexico. A record 48 national teams are set to take part.
Trump’s appearance at MetLife came a day after he threatened to impose a 30% tariff on imports from Mexico and the European Union, an escalation of a trade war that has angered U.S. allies and rattled investors.
-Reuters
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
Cole Palmer produced a scintillating first-half masterclass as Chelsea demolished Paris St Germain 3-0 to win the Club World Cup final at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium on Sunday.
The English attacking midfielder scored twice and provided an assist for Joao Pedro in a devastating display in the revamped tournament’s decider that left the European and French champions, who finished with 10 men, shell-shocked before the break.
Chelsea struck first in the 22nd minute when PSG fullback Nuno Mendes gifted possession to Malo Gusto. While his initial effort was blocked by Mendes, Gusto collected the rebound and found Palmer unmarked in the middle and the midfielder made no mistake, slotting a tidy finish just inside the left post.
Palmer doubled the lead after the 30th-minute cooling break with a goal of sublime quality. Latching onto a precise through ball from Levi Colwill, he cut inside before faking a pass to dummy a defender and firing into the bottom-left corner.
Palmer then turned provider, running up the channel before finding Joao Pedro, who took the ball in his stride and beat the offside trap before chipping his finish beautifully over keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
PSG’s misery was completed when Joao Neves was sent off for pulling Marc Cucurella’s hair in the 83rd minute.
-Reuters
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
- World Cup1 week ago
BREAKING: At last FIFA’s Axe falls on South Africa!
- World Cup1 week ago
South Africa to Appeal FIFA Ruling Over Mokoena Eligibility Case
- Nigerian Football1 week ago
Super Eagles Set for Double Friendly Showdown with Venezuela and Colombia in USA
- World Cup6 days ago
FIFA Sanction on South Africa Offers Super Eagles a Lifeline — But a Lesson from History Looms
- World Cup1 week ago
Sport Minister Orders Probe into SAFA over Bafana’s Costly Points Deduction
- CAF Confederation Cup1 week ago
Asante Kotoko End Kwara United’s Confederation Cup Campaign in Abeokuta
- U-20 FOOTBALL1 week ago
Two penalty appeal lost as Flying Eagles stumble at first hurdle
- World Cup4 days ago
Super Eagles Walk Tightrope as Nine Key Players Risk Suspension in World Cup Qualifiers