Sports
Real Madrid win record-extending 5th Club World Cup title with 5-3 win over Al Hilal
Vinicius Junior and Federico Valverde each scored twice as Real Madrid won the FIFA Club World Cup for a record-extending fifth time after a 5-3 victory over Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal in Saturday’s final in Rabat, Morocco.European Champions League winners Madrid were heavy favourites against their counterparts from Asia and duly raced into a 2-0 lead inside 20 minutes with two goals in five minutes from Vinicius and Valverde.
But Al Hilal, the first team from Saudi Arabia to make the final, made the game a contest when pulling a goal back courtesy of Moussa Marega.Madrid raced clear once again with two more quick-fire goals early in the second half through the fit-again Karim Benzema and a second for Uruguayan midfielder Valverde to seemingly make the result safe with still just over 30 minutes remaining.
Instead, Madrid boss Ancelotti is unlikely to be too impressed by his side allowing Al Hilal a route back into the game once more through a brace from former Atletico Madrid forward Luciano Vietto, either side of a second from Vinicius.
Al Hilal could have ensured real late drama if not for a bad miss from Marega, but Madrid had enough to see out an ultimately deserved win in a game that set the record for the most combined goals in a Club World Cup final.The Spanish giants have now won all five finals they have played in the competition, having previously won three titles in four years between 2014 and 2018. The next most successful team in the FIFA event, which began in 2000 and has been held annually since 2005, are Barcelona with three victories.
European teams have now won the trophy in the past 10 Club World Cups.
“I think we’re improving, there were some mistakes at the back but a lot of quality up front,” Ancelotti said. “The players who were injured are coming back, Karim, [Eder] Militao, [Thibaut] Courtois, and this trophy gives us a boost to prepare this end of the season, and we still have a lot of confidence.
“It’s been a good tournament for us, the improvement we’ve seen in recent games, the rest of the season we’re excited to fight until the end in every minute, every game, every competition.”
– Ancelotti hails Valverde, Vinicius after Club World Cup triumph
Benzema was a mild surprise in Madrid’s starting lineup a day after Carlo Ancelotti said it was touch-and-go if he could play at all. The Ballon d’Or holder missed Madrid’s last two games, including the 4-1 semifinal win against Egyptian club Al Ahly on Wednesday.
The France striker cued the opener after he exchanged passes with Valverde and played Vinicius clear to beat goalkeeper Abdullah Al-Mayouf, who got a leg to the shot but not enough to keep it from landing in his net.
Valverde smashed a poor clearance between the legs of a defender, who deflected it slightly before it whizzed past Al-Mayouf, to double the advantage in the 18th.
But after struggling in the opening period to even connect three passes, Al Hilal found their stride after Marega caught Madrid’s backline trying to spring an offside trap in the 26th. The former Porto striker streaked away unbothered, sized up Andriy Lunin and fired past Madrid’s backup goalkeeper, who started for the injured Thibaut Courtois.
The goal settled Al Hilal and Madrid were stymied until Vinicius made an exquisite pass to serve up a goal by Benzema.
Vinicius used the outside edge of his right boot to bend a cross around a defender and meet Benzema’s darting move. Benzema did the rest by using one touch to turn it into the top of the net in the 54th.Valverde added his second in the 58th.
Vietto scored on either side of Vinicius’ second goal, netting in the 63rd and 79th as Madrid’s defence failed to track the Argentine in the box.A late miss by Marega denied Al Hilal a chance to go for a last-gasp equalizer. (ESPN)
The first truly heavyweight clash of this expanded T20 World Cup format comes freighted with both history and subplots. A rematch of the 2010 World T20 final at Kensington Oval, the match pits Jos Buttler’s defending champions – who are aiming to become the first team to retain the trophy – against the Australian winning machine, victors at the 2021 edition and current world title-holders in Test and ODI cricket. And that’s before you throw in the Ashes for afters.
Already there is added pressure on England, after the rain in Bridgetown led to a share of the points in their opener against Scotland (and that having conceded 90 runs from 10 overs without taking a wicket in a tepid bowling display). Lose to their oldest rivals and it will leave their Super 8 prospects open to being waylaid by the perils of net run-rate calculations, or worse.
The Scotland match was the third abandonment in five suffered by England, after a rain-affected home series against Pakistan, which has clearly hampered their readiness for this campaign after almost six months without playing T20 together. It does not take much for a side to click in this format – and England looked in decent shape when they did get on the field against Pakistan – but Buttler will be anxious for things to go their way on Saturday, if only to avoid further questions referencing the team’s disastrous ODI World Cup defence last year.
Australia, under the laidback leadership of Mitchell Marsh would love nothing more than to add to the English sense of jeopardy – having helped bundle them out of the tournament in India on the way to taking the crown. Their head to head record is less impressive in T20 however, with England having won six of the last seven completed encounters, as well as that 2010 final.
Despite a wobble with the bat, Australia avoided mishap against Oman earlier in the week, the experience of David Warner and Marcus Stoinis shining through in difficult batting conditions. Surfaces in the Caribbean – not to mention those games staged in the USA – have already had teams scratching their heads; rather than the “slug-fest” England had prepared for, following a high-scoring tour of the Caribbean in December, it looks as if boxing smart may be the way to go.
Speaking of Warner, this could be the last time he faces up against England in national colours – and another match-winning contribution would likely reduce the chances of them meeting again in the knockouts. On the other side of the card is Jofra Archer, fresh from an emotional maiden outing at Kensington Oval and ready to take on Australia for the first time in any format since 2020. Can Mark Wood fire up England’s campaign, as he did during last summer’s Ashes? Will Pat Cummins be back to harass the old enemy once again? Seconds out, it’s almost time to rumble.
Cummins is set to return after being rested for the Oman game, which saw Mitchell Starc leave the field with cramp. Starc is understood to be fine and could keep his place – which would likely see Nathan Ellis miss out. Marsh is still not fit to bowl, with Australia likely to continue with the allrounder combination of Stoinis and Maxwell to give them cover.
Australia (probable XI): David Warner, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (capt), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Josh Inglis (wk), Tim David, Pat Cummins, Nathan Ellis/Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
The one change England may consider is Reece Topley coming in for Wood, with the expectation that there will be some rotation among the seamers through the course of the tournament.
England (probable XI): Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (capt & wk), Will Jacks, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley/Mark Wood
[Cricinfo]
Once is coincidence, twice is a clue, and three times is proof.
To paraphrase Agatha Christie, that is the narrative around South Africa’s meeting with Netherlands at this T20 World Cup.
The Dutch beat South Africa at the 2022 tournament and ended their semi-final hopes in a match where South Africa appeared to be sleep walking, and then beat them again at the 2023 ODI World Cup, where they exposed South Africa’s vulnerability in the chase. If they to do the treble, not only will Netherlands take the lead in Group D, but they will offer conclusive evidence of the threat they pose to Full Members, especially South Africa.
Of course, it will take some doing after South Africa’s opening performance against Sri Lanka, where they reduced their opposition to their lowest T20I total and chased it down in fairly straightforward fashion thanks to the most stable middle-order of their white-ball era. In Aiden Markram, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller, South Africa have bankers and big-hitters and, for this match, they also have the advantage of experience. They’ve already played at Eisenhower Park, and have first-hand knowledge that run-scoring doesn’t come easily;Klassen said they are prepared to use their “cricket brains” and play “smarter cricket”.
But the conditions could be good news for Netherlands, who are not naturally a line-up of big hitters and build their innings on a foundation of turning ones into twos. In other words, they tend to take a slightly more conservative approach to batting, which may work well here, but they’ll be wary of the uneven bounce of the surface and will have to come up with plans to counterattack especially against South Africa’s seamers. Their own bowlers were exemplary in Dallas and will look to build on that performance against a line-up that will likely be more proactive than Nepal’s, but who they have managed to keep quiet not once, but twice in the past. Third time’s the charm, they say.
Anrich Nortje’s stunning return to form against Sri Lanka means South Africa may not have to tinker with the bowling combination, and Gerald Coetzee and Tabraiz Shamsi may have to wait their turns to get a game. The batting line-up should be unchanged, with no space for Ryan Rickelton yet.
South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markam, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), David Miller, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Ottneil Baartman, Anrich Nortje
Conditions in New York may tempt Netherlands to include an extra seamer and they have Kyle Klein in their squad. But it could come at the expense of a shortened batting line-up and they may not want to risk that.
Netherlands: Michael Levitt, Max O’Dowd, Vikramjit Singh, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Scott Edwards (capt, wk), Bas de Leede, Teja Nidamanuru, Logan van Beek, Tim Pringle, Paul van Meekeren, Vivian Kingma
[Cricinfo]
Nuwan Thushara’s last over brought Sri Lanka screaming back into the match,as he first bowled Rishad Hossain, and then nailed Taskin Ahmed in front of the stumps with a pinpoint swinging yorker. This left Bangladesh eight wickets down, with 12 runs still to get.
However, the experienced Mahmudullah was at the crease for Bangladesh, and despite some further nervy moments, pushed Bangladesh across the line off the last ball of the 19th over.
But this was a match chiefly decided by Bangladesh’s own outstanding bowling. Mustafizur Rahman was the best among them, using shorter lengths and his cutters efficiently, to claim figures of 3 for 17. Rishad Hossain’s three-for through the middle overs also kept Sri Lanka quiet.
Mustafizur was instrumental in Sri Lanka’s downward spiral through the middle overs, which culminated in a crash-and-burn end. Ultimately, their inability to find boundaries, or even rotate strike against good Bangladesh bowling resulted in their downfall. A score of 125 for 9 always seemed poor on a decent pitch, even if their bowlers made a match of it in the end.
Brief scores:
Bangladesh 125 for 8 in 19 overs (Towhid Hridoy 40, Litton Das 36; Dhanajaya de Silva 1-11, Nuwan Thushara 4-18, Wanidu Hasaranga 2-32, Matheesha Pathirana 1-27) beat Sri Lanka124 for 9 in 20 overs (Pathum Nissanka 47, Dhananjaya de Silva 21; Tanzim Hasan Sakib 1-24, Taskin Ahmed 2-25, Mustafizur Rahman 3-17, Rishad Hossain 3-22) by two wickets
[Cricinfo]
US sports envoys to Lanka to champion youth development
Rahuman questions sudden cancellation of leave of CEB employees
