Showing posts with label Fifa Club World Cup. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fifa Club World Cup. Show all posts
Tuesday, 15 July 2025
Monday, 14 July 2025
Sunday, 13 July 2025
US PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP TO ATTEND FIFA CLUB WORLD CUP FINAL
Donald Trump will on Sunday appear in the FIFA Club World Cup final, showcasing his unexpected attachment to a sport in which “America First” remains a dream, for now.
The US president is attending the final of the newly expanded FIFA Club World Cup in his latest use of the beautiful game as a soft power political weapon.
His appearance at the MetLife stadium in New Jersey, where Paris Saint-Germain face Chelsea, is very much a trial run for the World Cup final, which will take place in the same stadium next year.
Trump has made it clear that he views both tournaments, as well as the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, as showcases for what he calls the “Golden Age of America” during his second term.
The billionaire Republican’s close friendship with FIFA president Gianni Infantino, a frequent visitor to the White House, is also a factor in his appearance.
Trump has kept the Club World Cup trophy next to his desk in the Oval Office since Infantino dropped by in March.
But Trump’s embrace of football, or soccer as he would say, is also personal.
The president’s 19-year-old son, Barron, is a fan, as Infantino pointed out in a press conference at FIFA’s new office in Trump Tower in New York on Saturday.
Asked if Trump liked the game, Infantino replied: “Well, I think he does. In his first term as president of the United States, there was a soccer goal in the garden of the White House.
“He then explained to me that his son loved football and that he loved the game. And of course, when you are a parent, you love what your children love, so I think that he loves it.”
"As a student at the New York Military Academy, Trump himself also reportedly played the game for a season.
Trump’s apparent fondness for football may seem unusual for a country where, despite growing popularity, the sport still lags behind American football, basketball, and baseball.
The former reality TV star has, however, always had an eye for popularity, power, and influence. And football, in its own way, brings all three.
Trump pointed out when Infantino visited the White House in March that the United States won the right to host the 2026 World Cup in 2018, during his first term as president.
He said he was “so sad” because he assumed he would not be president when the tournament came around — but his 2020 election loss meant that he would after all.
The FIFA Club World Cup has meanwhile proved more successful than its critics predicted, with around 2.5 million people attending games across the country and some gripping games.
Infantino, who is no stranger to dealing with hard-nosed leaders around the world, thanked Trump for his support on Saturday.
He said Trump “embraced immediately the importance of the FIFA Club World Cup, and of course, the World Cup next year.”
Infantino also joked that Trump “certainly loves as well the trophy” — whose gold-plated curves match the gilded makeover that the president has given the Oval Office.
But in typical form, Trump has also mixed political controversy with his football fandom.
Hosting Italian side Juventus in the Oval Office in June, he delivered a diatribe on transgender people in sports before asking the players: “Could a woman make your team, fellas?”
Most of the players looked bemused before Juventus general manager Damien Comolli replied: “We have a very good women’s team.”
“He’s being very diplomatic,” said Trump.
Trump’s hardline immigration crackdown — part of his “America First” policy — has meanwhile sparked fears that football fans will be discouraged from coming to the United States.
In May, Vice President JD Vance said that 2026 World Cup fans were “welcome to come… but when the time is up, they will have to go home.”
- AFP
Friday, 11 July 2025
Thursday, 10 July 2025
Wednesday, 9 July 2025
Sunday, 6 July 2025
MANUEL NEUER POINTS FINGER AT TEARFUL GIANLUIGI DONNARUMMA FOR JAMAL MUSIALA HORROR INJURY
Bayern Munich star Jamal Musiala suffered a horrible injury in a challenge with Gianluigi Donnarumma which overshadowed Paris Saint-Germain's victory at the Club World Cup
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| Jamal Musiala was injured in a collision with Gianluigi Donnarumma(Image: Rich von Biberstein/Getty Images) |
Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer pointed the finger at Gianluigi Donnarumma after Jamal Musiala sustained a horror injury at the Club World Cup. Musiala was stretchered off during Bayern’s 2-0 defeat by Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter finals in Atlanta after colliding with Donnarumma.
The Bayern star was taken to hospital with a serious injury picked up late in the first half at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Chasing an overhit pass from Michael Olise, he tried to get around William Pacho, only for Donnarumma to dive onto the ball, accidentally trapping Musiala’s leg between his body and the turf.
The seriousness of the situation was immediately evident, with the Germany international in agony and all the players distraught. Donnarumma dropped to his knees holding his face and was in tears when he realised the extent of the injury, which reports suggest is a fractured tibia and fibula, meaning potentially five months out.
Bayern veteran Neuer was still emotional after the match and criticised his opposite number in an interview with Sky Sports Germany. “It was a situation where you don't have to go in like that,” he said. “That's risk-taking. He was prepared to accept the risk of injuring his opponent.”
Neuer then alleged that Donnarumma only checked in on Musiala after being prompted. He said: “I went to him and said, ‘Don't you want to go and see our player?’ It's a matter of respect, of going there and wishing the guy all the best. He then did it. Fair play is always a part of it. I would have reacted differently.”
Donnarumma took to Instagram after the game, writing: “All my prayers and well wishes are with you @jamalmusiala10.” PSG won the game thanks to goals from Ousmane Dembele and Desire Doue, but their post-match thoughts were all with Musiala.
"It's important we talk about Musiala," said PSG right-back Achraf Hakimi. "I want to give my support to him. We hope to see him back on the pitch soon." Dembele added: "Shout out to Jamal Musiala. [The injury] is something you don't want to see on the field."
Bayern Munich manager Vincent Kompany told DAZN: "He has had to go to hospital. It didn't look good. The overwhelming feeling is hopefully it's not as bad as it looks and he gets through this one."
Kompany later added: "I've rarely been so angry at half-time, not against my players. There are many things in life that are much more important than this, but in the end, for these guys, it's their life. He came back from a setback, and then it happens in the way it happens and you feel powerless.
"You try and get strength out of it because you want to do it for Jamal. The thing that gets my blood still boiling at the moment, it's not the result. I understand this is football, but it's the fact that it happened to someone that, for one, enjoys the game so much, but also is very important for us."
- Felix Keith
Saturday, 5 July 2025
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