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Manchester City players celebrate Club World Cup victory
Photo: Amr Abdallah Dalsh / REUTERS
Champions League winners Manchester City have won the Club World Cup for the first time. In the final, coach Pep Guardiola's team beat Fluminense from Rio de Janeiro 4-0 (2-0). The English Premier League club won their fifth title in 2023 thanks to goals from Julián Álvarez (1st and 88th minutes), Nino (27th/own goal) and Phil Foden (72nd).
Guardiola had previously won the Club World Cup in 2009 and 2011 with FC Barcelona and in 2013 with FC Bayern. He is the first coach to win four Club World Cup titles. City midfielder Mateo Kovacic also made history by becoming the first player to win the competition with three different clubs. He triumphed with Real Madrid in 2016 and 2017, and with Chelsea in 2021.
Manchester, who had won the Champions League as well as the English championship, the FA Cup and the European Super Cup that year, continued the series of European victories at the Club World Cup with the triumph that was never threatened. For the eleventh time in a row, the title went to a team from Europe. The streak began after the 2012 final, which Corinthians São Paulo won 1-0 against Chelsea.
Club World Cup with new format from 2025
This year's edition took place in Saudi Arabia for the first time. The country, which has been criticized for human rights violations, has been positioning itself as a host of major sporting events for years. It has recently invested a lot of money, especially in professional football, and has brought superstars such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar into the domestic league. It is considered certain that Saudi Arabia will be awarded the 2034 World Cup.
The Club World Cup, which will not take place in 2024, will now have a completely new format. For 2025, the world governing body Fifa is planning a tournament in the USA from June 15 to July 13 with 63 matches in total and seven games for the finalists. The German record champions FC Bayern Munich have already qualified for it due to their good Champions League results.
max/dpa