World Soccer - UK (2021-03)

he ClubWorld Cup

is never a priority

for European clubs.

Both unloved and

unwanted, the

tournament is

even considered a distraction during

busy winter months. Yet Bayern

Munich, the 2020 Champions

League winners, demonstrated

enough German cool to win the

global crown with a1-0 victory

over Mexico’s Tigres UANL in the

competition’s final in Qatar and lift

their sixth trophy in nine months.

Champions of the world

Bayern Munich complete sextuple of trophies in Qatar

In alow-wattage final, Bayern

struggled to break down the tenacious

Mexicans.Joshua Kimmich’s wonderful

18th-minute strike was chalked off by

VAR for Robert Lewandowski’s offside,

but Bayern’s perpetual movement and

sheer class eventually fatigued their

opponents. In the 59th minute, the ball

dropped to Benjamin Pavard in the box

and with Tigres goalkeeper Nahuel

Guzman out of position, the full-back

slammed the ball into an empty net.

The Mexicans, the tournament’s

surprise package, were the first team

from North and Central America to

reach the Club World Cup final. In the

semi-finals, they upset South American

champions Palmeiras1-0 thanks to a

54th-minute penalty conversion from

their talismanic French striker Andre-

Pierre Gignac. Crestfallen, the Brazilians

were left to ponder why they had

missed out on a tantalizing match-up

with the European champions.

In South America, the Club World

Cup matters: reaching and winning the

final is considered the pinnacle a club

can achieve. It is why Neymar and

Santos couldn’t stop talking about

playing Barcelona in 2011, or why

World Champions...

Manuel Neuer lifts the

Club World Cup trophy

T

FIFA Club World Cup

SAMINDRA KUNTI

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