Manchester City eased into the final of the Club World Cup with a comfortable 3-0 win over Japanese side Urawa Red Diamonds on Tuesday.
Without Erling Haaland, the Champions League winners needed an own goal to launch their campaign in Saudi Arabia but second-half strikes from Mateo Kovavic and Bernardo Silva saw them stroll to victory.
Having already added the European Super Cup to last season’s treble, City will now have the chance to claim a fifth trophy of the calendar year when they face Brazil’s Fluminese in Friday’s final in Jeddah.
With Urawa showing limited ambition against City’s formidable line-up, the only surprise was the game remained goalless until first-half stoppage time.
City may have been without a recognised centre forward in Haaland’s continued absence due to a foot injury, but the Reds defence was given little respite and goalkeeper Shusaku Nishikawa had a busy night.
Rodri had City’s first attempt on goal when he fired wide after eight minutes and he had another effort deflected past the post after Silva shot over.
Nishikawa did well to turn over from Matheus Nunes on the half-hour and he denied both the Portugal international again and Phil Foden from distance.
City finally claimed the breakthrough their play deserved just before the interval, although they did benefit from a stroke of luck.
Nunes broke down the right and exchanged passes with Silva before driving the ball low towards goal, where it was turned into his own net by Norwegian defender Marius Hoibraten.
With their lead established, City tightened their grip after the break.
Kyle Walker played Kovacic into space for the Croatia midfielder to lift the ball over Nishikawa for the second after 52 minutes.
Nunes should have added another moments later but headed wide from a Jack Grealish cross.
The third came just before the hour after Nishikawa pushed away another Nunes effort and Silva drove in the rebound with the aid of a deflection.
Guardiola began to make changes in the latter stages as he looked ahead to the final.
One of the substitutes, Julian Alvarez, was denied by Nishikawa at point-blank range and Grealish squandered another chance by delaying his shot.
Urawa had a couple of late chances as City eased up but John Stones cleared after Bryan Linssen seized on a poor backpass and Ederson denied Shoya Nakajima with his feet.
Ederson lauds 'sometimes annoying' Guardiola
Ederson says it is an honour to be a part of Pep Guardiola's Manchester City, though admitted the manager can be "sometimes annoying".
The goalkeeper joined City in June 2017 and has since kept 113 clean sheets in 257 Premier League appearances, more than any other goalkeeper in the competition since his debut.
He has won 15 major trophies with City, including six Premier Leagues, two FA Cups and a Champions League title, as well as the UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup under Guardiola.
While on international duty with Brazil, Ederson attended an event for Children's Day and was asked if Guardiola was nice, annoying or angry by one child.
"You're going to get me in trouble," Ederson told ESPN Brasil. "He's all three.
"He's a nice guy, he's sometimes annoying, in the sense of [being] demanding, because he has to [be] demanding to a professional [player], and he's also angry when he has to be angry.
"So he has a mixture of all three. But he's a nice guy off the pitch, and he's a very, very demanding guy on it. And he's also a guy who gets angry like any other person, like any other coach, when things don't go well or when the team doesn't play well.
"Of course, we know that we're not going to be able to play 70 games at a brilliant level. Of course, in one game or another, there's going to be a dip."
Under Guardiola, City became the only English club in history to hold all five trophies – Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup, Super Cup and Club World Cup – in a calendar year (in 2023).
In the English top-flight, Guardiola has overseen 311 games since July 2016, winning 230 of those (D43 L38). He has a 73.95% win percentage in the competition and averages 2.36 points per game.
And Ederson believes the Spaniard, who has been named the Premier League manager of the season five times, has changed football in the competition.
"I've been able to play a big part in the project," he said. "You take everything Guardiola has built up with the group, with the squad and everything he's been able to reformulate practically.
"You see every Premier League game today, how the teams try to play more football, have more possession. It's completely different from when he arrived.
"So to be able to be part of this project and achieve everything I've achieved, I feel very honoured, it really is a childhood dream."
CONCACAF President to visit Jamaica next week
President of the governing body of football in the region, CONCACAF, Victor Montagliani, will be visiting Jamaica starting Wednesday October 16, 2024 for two days.
On his visit to Jamaica he will meet with the President of the Jamaica Football Federation, Michael Ricketts, the Prime Minister of Jamaica The Most Honorable Andrew Holness, and also the Minister of Sport, The Honorable Olivia Grange.
Montagliani will also watch some matches in the Jamaica Premier League.
“We are eagerly anticipating the arrival of CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani to Jamaica. This is a momentous moment for us,” Ricketts said.
“The last time he was here was for the FIFA Football Summit in Montego Bay in 2018. We look forward to strengthening our relationship with CONCACAF,” he added.
JPL outfit Dunbeholden FC partnering with Dinthill Technical High School to provide counselling to players involved in fracas with match official
In an unfortunate event this September, two players from Dinthill Technical High School were banned from taking part in any Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) competition for one year, while a third was suspended for three games following an incident involving match officials at the end of a daCosta Cup match against McGrath High.
Reports stated that players were involved in a confrontation with the referee after the game, and it was alleged one of them physically assaulted the official.
Maalick Whyte and Shamair Hutchinson have both been banned from participating in any ISSA-run competitions for one-year, effective September 26, 2024, while Tyrese Gowe, was hit with the three-match suspension.
The Linstead-based school was also placed on a three-year probation and faces the possibility of suspension should its players breach the disciplinary code of conduct within the period of probation.
This incident also led to the Jamaica Referees Association members taking strike action, resulting in the postponement of matches across both the Manning and Dacosta Cup competitions.
Jamaica Premier League outfit Dunbeholden FC, club of Tyrese Gowe, is one of the groups trying to find ways to prevent this from happening again and have acted through their partnership with Counsellors Corner.
“The Management of the Dunbeholden Football Club thought it prudent to get involved in finding solutions and ways to help student athletes to becoming future stars and role models for their peers," the club said in a statement on Friday.
“Dunbeholden Football Club does not condone such behaviors in any way and, while we sympathize with the Dinthill family, we, through our partnership with Counsellors Corner will be partnering with Dinthill Technical High School to offer counselling to the students involved and also other student athletes as well as the wider school community,” it continued.
The club also announced that they are in the process of partnering with other schools, churches and companies in St. Catherine to try and decrease incidents of this nature from happening again.
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