The 2023 tournament was co-hosted this year by Australia and New Zealand, with Spain beating England in the final.
Chelsea’s faltering first season under Mauricio Pochettino could still be saved by the English League Cup.
The London club reached the semi-finals after beating Newcastle 4-2 in the aftermath on Tuesday, and the game only got there thanks to a goal from Chelsea winger Mykhailo Mudryk in the second minute of stoppage time that made it 1-1 at Stamford. . Bridge.
Newcastle right-back Kieran Trippier committed the foul for that reason and was one of two visiting players who failed to score his penalty. Matt Ritchie was the other, while substitute goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic made a save to end the shootout.
Chelsea languish in tenth place in the Premier League, despite spending more than $1 billion on players in the last three transfer windows and having no European festival to alter their schedule.
Pochettino is starting to feel some pressure from failing to assemble a talented organisation of players, so this cup run may be huge to gain some momentum. The explosion of joy inside the stadium after the final penalty made it the moment of his reign. less than six months.
Newcastle qualified for the semi-finals of the League Cup for the second season in a row. Fulham reached this level for the first time in their 144-year history.
Fulham, another west London team, also needed a penalty shootout to advance and lasted longer, with defender Tosin Adarabioyo finally scoring the decisive kick for a 7-6 victory. Amadou Onana had a chance to win the penalty shootout for Everton, but his attempt was saved at 4-3.
The match finished 1-1 in normal time at Goodison Park, with Everton substitute Beto scoring in the 82nd minute to cancel out a Michael Keane own goal.
Middlesbrough will be the big loser in the semi-finals as the remaining non-Premier League team.
The second-tier club beat third-tier Port Vale 3-0 thanks to goals from Jonny Howson, Morgan Rogers and Matt Crooks.
Middlesbrough, the 2004 champions and now controlled by former Manchester United and England midfielder Michael Carrick, have yet to face a Premier League in the competition.
The beginnings of Nkunku
There was more good news for Chelsea, with Christopher Nkunku coming off the bench in the second half to finally make his competitive debut six months after signing from Leipzig.
The France striker sustained a serious knee injury in the offseason and only recently returned to training, with Pochettino careful not to push him into first-team action too quickly.
Nkunku confidently overcame one of Chelsea’s most sensitive corner penalty shootout consequences and was also alert in regulation time.
However, Argentine half-boxer Enzo Fernandez left the box unaided midway through the first half. Pochettino said after the game that Fernandez had asked to retire because he was not feeling well.
Liverpool host West Ham on Wednesday in the final quarter-final match, after which the draw for the semi-finals will be made.
The final is at Wembley Stadium on Feb. 25.
Frosinone’s cup run continued when they stunned reigning Serie A champions Napoli with a 4-0 win at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on Tuesday to triumph in the quarterfinals of the Coppa Italia.
Frosinone, who had already reached the round of 16, will then face either Juventus or Salernitana.
Napoli rested several of their key players, adding Victor Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who brought on the key duo in the 63rd minute, with the score at 0-0.
Frosinone took the lead just two minutes later when Enzo Barrenechea was unmarked to head Luca Garritano’s corner into the back of the net.
It is Barrenechea’s first goal for Frosinone after being loaned out by Juventus, a team the 22-year-old Argentine could now face in the quarter-finals.
An even worse defensive error saw the visitors double their advantage five minutes later as a woeful pass from Napoli defender Giovanni Di Lorenzo saw Giuseppe Caso race through one-on-one with home goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini and he deposited into the bottom right corner.
Di Lorenzo made a mistake in the last minute when he fouled Matias Soulé in the penalty area and Walid Cheddira – on loan from Napoli – converted the resulting shot.
Substitute Abdou Harroui also scored in stoppage time to cap off a glorious evening for Frosinone, who celebrated joyfully in front of the visiting fans.
Giovanni Simeone had a goal disallowed against Napoli in the first half due to preseason handball.
Frosinone will play in the quarterfinals on Jan. 10. Juventus will host Salernitana on January 4.
Borussia Dortmund was whistled into the winter break by its own fans Tuesday after struggling Mainz fought back to earn a 1-1 draw, stretching the home team’s winless run in the Bundesliga to four games.
Dortmund coach Edin Terzić and the players earned some applause and encouragement after the game, but there was little celebratory joy for the team that ended the year winless in any of its last six matches in all competitions.
“This just doesn’t happen, the decisive moments are not on our side,” said Dortmund captain Emre Can, whose side have won just once in their last eight Bundesliga games. “I can’t blame the guys because they’re trying. We need to win, we need to succeed, but then it doesn’t work.
Dortmund had started well against Mainz, the team that thwarted its title hopes on the final day last season.
Julian Brandt rewarded the home side’s good start with a brilliant free-kick in the 29th minute from the right.
Mainz didn’t threaten until before the break, when Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel deflected Marco Richter’s shot to the right.
But Sepp van den Berg equalized after the Dortmund defense failed to clear the resulting corner well: Phillipp Mwene found himself in enough space to set van den Berg on the post with his cross.
Dortmund struggled to reassert their dominance in the half. Terzić brought in Sebastien Haller and 19-year-old Samuel Bamba to revitalize his attack, and then American striker Gio Reyna in place of defender Nico Schlotterbeck.
Dortmund had more of the ball but couldn’t break through.
Mainz created greater chances to win. Jonathan Burkardt scored when he just had to beat Kobel, but the Mainz substitute missed his shot.
Reyna thought he’d scored in the last minute but his celebrations were cut short by the linesman’s flag. A VAR check confirmed the offside call.
Donyell Malen fired home in stoppage time as Dortmund finally began to threaten, albeit too late.
Terzić will meet sporting director Sebastian Kehl and CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke during the winter break to discuss Dortmund’s problems.
“These are issues that unfortunately keep repeating,” Terzić said. “They’re issues we talked about in summer, issues we talked about last winter, and issues that have been with us for a very long time now. And that’s what we always do — we meet after the season or during breaks, we discuss things openly and honestly, we look each other in the eye and try to tackle things and think about solutions.”
Elsewhere, third-placed Leipzig drew 1-1 with Werder Bremen in Emil Forsberg’s last game before his move to the New York Red Bulls.
Leipzig were ahead when Forsberg applauded through his teammates and best wishes from his opponents in the 62nd minute. Forsberg had played Lois Openda and the Belgian striker scored on the third attempt in the 47th minute after Bremen goalkeeper Michael Zetterer blocked his first two shots.
But Justin Njinmah scored a point for Bremen when he fired into the corner to equalize in the 75th minute.
Also, Hoffenheim drew with Darmstadt 3-3.
Brazil forward Neymar will not arrive in time from knee surgery to play in next year’s Copa America, national team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar said on Tuesday.
Brazil’s top scorer underwent surgery last month after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and meniscus in his left knee in his foreign cap in October.
Lasmar, who carried out the surgery, said the 31-year-old is not expected to be fit until August and they do not intend to take short cuts in the recovery process for him to play at the June 20-July 14 tournament in the United States.
“We may not have time, it’s too early, there’s no point in skipping steps to accelerate and taking unnecessary risks,” Lasmar told Brazilian broadcaster Radio 98 FM.
“We hope he will be in a position to return at the start of the 2024 season in Europe, which is in August. We have to be patient. Communicating about a return before nine months is premature. “
“It’s very important to have the time that the body wants to build this ligament. It is expected that after this time it will have recovered to a higher level. “
Neymar joined Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal in August, but the former Barcelona and Paris St Germain forward played only five games as he struggled with muscle injuries.
Brazil is tied in Group D of the Copa America with Colombia, Paraguay and a CONCACAF qualifier.
The Club World Cup in Jeddah has given Manchester City a respite from their recent poor form in the Premier League and the players are determined to work hard and achieve results, midfielder Rodri said.
City have won just one of their last six league games and slipped to fourth place, five points ahead of Arsenal, but the three-time winners booked their place in the Club World Cup final with Tuesday’s 3-0 win over Urawa Red Diamonds.
European champions City, who also won this year’s UEFA Super Cup, did not benefit from the influence of injured Belgian playmaker Kevin De Bruyne, while a foot problem recently left them at a disadvantage to goalscorer Erling Haaland.
Manager Pep Guardiola said De Bruyne, who played one league game this season due to a hamstring injury, had returned to training, but Haaland remained absent.
The duo will miss Friday’s final against Brazilian club Fluminense.
“We have to do everything we can to win everything because it will be history. It would be an unbelievable run if we finished with five titles,” Rodri said.
“(The last few games) left us with a bad feeling in the dressing room, so I think it was smart of us to prevent a little bit and come here for the (club) World Cup.
“When you’re in that moment, you’re in this combination of feeling like you’re failing and wasting points. It’s a moment where you can’t communicate much, you have to be calm, work as hard as you can and the effects will be there. Come out “
Fluminense coach Fernando Diniz has expressed his team’s joy at weathering the Al Ahly typhoon and reaching the Club World Cup final with a 2-0 win on Monday.
Two penalty goals in the final 20 minutes in Jeddah and then John Kennedy sent the Brazilians into Friday’s final against European Champions League winners Manchester City or Japan’s Urawa Reds.
Al Ahly had to squander several chances as the African champions failed to get past Fluminense goalkeeper Fabio, 43.
But he was not the only veteran to shine for the Copa Libertadores champions.
At the age of 40, Felipe Melo became the oldest outfield player in Club World Cup history, while ex-Real Madrid captain Marcelo, 35, won the decisive penalty.
Former Brazilian Ganso, 34, and German striker Cano, 35, also played their part.
“Did the age of our players help? I think that’s probably the case,” said Diniz, who has combined his duties as Fluminense coach with a season as interim coach of Brazil, AFP reported.
“Marcelo is decisive, especially in the penalty. “
Marcelo also believes it is a mix of youth and experience that has led Fluminense to an all-time high this year as they won the Copa Libertadores for the first time.
“They call us the 40-somethings, but we aim to help the younger players with this experience,” said the left-back.
“I think it is this mix of young players and experience that has helped Fluminense a lot.”
The last 10 Club World Cups have been won through European teams.
Algerian footballer Youcef Atal went on trial in France on Monday on charges of incitement to hatred after posting a video in which a Palestinian preacher allegedly threatened Israel with a “black day”.
Atal, who plays for Nice in Ligue 1, shared the video on his Instagram account, which has 3. 2 million followers, shortly after Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7.
In an excerpt of the video seen by AFP, preacher Mahmoud Al Hasanat spoke for the first time about the plight of young people in Gaza.
Prosecutors said they were also aware of an excerpt in which he called on God to “send the Jews on a black day” and to “sign the hands” of Gazans if they had to “throw stones. “
The 27-year-old defender, who temporarily deleted his post and apologised, was suspended from his club while prosecutors investigated the incident for “justifying terrorism”.
But they abandoned that line of inquiry after watching the video and questioning the player, accusing him of “devout hate speech. “
Atal arrived at the courthouse in the southern city of Nice, accompanied by his lawyer, Antoine Vey.
It followed an organization of people saying “Algeria is with you” and “Long live Palestine,” according to an AFP photographer at the scene.
Two associations, the International League on Racism and Anti-Semitism (LICRA) and the Jewish Observatory of France, filed a civil lawsuit against the player.
If convicted, Atal could face up to a year in prison and a fine of 45,000 euros ($49,000).
He is under court supervision and is prohibited from traveling unless it is to play professional soccer.
His club temporarily suspended him “until further notice” after the message, while the professional soccer league suspended him for seven games.
Some of Atal’s Algerian colleagues pleaded for clemency, saying he had apologized and watched the video at the end before posting it.
The General Assembly of the Arab Billiards and Snooker Federation approved hosting the Arab Billiards Championship 2024 in Riyadh.
The decision was made within the framework of the Arab Combined Billiards and Snooker Championships and the Carrom Games, which will be held in Jordan from December 10 to 20, SPA reported.
They will also hold the Arab Cup in Dubai in 2024, review monetary and administrative reports, and identify a suitable calendar for 2024 and 2025.