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ORLANDO, Fla. — Marcos Leonardo scored his second goal on a rebound in the 112th minute, and Al Hilal stunned Manchester City 4-3 on Monday night, eliminating the Premier League power from the Club World Cup in the round of 16. In a back-and-forth thriller at Camping World Stadium, the Saudi Arabian club took the lead three times, including twice in extra time. Kalidou Koulibaly put Al Hilal ahead 3-2 in the 94th minute, but Phil Foden — who entered as a substitute four minutes earlier — equalized in the 104th. Leonardo finally put Man City away. Goalkeeper Ederson saved a header by Sergej Milinkovic-Savic from inside the penalty box and the ball deflected to Leonardo, who redirected it with his right foot as he fell to the pitch near the left post. Al Hilal moves on to face Fluminense of Brazil, which took down another European power, Inter Milan, earlier Tuesday. Leonardo also scored in the 46th minute to even the match at 1-1. Bernardo Silvan opened the scoring in the ninth min...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Fluminense stunned Inter Milan 2-0 in the Club World Cup round of 16, prompting Inter Milan captain Lautaro Martínez to criticize his teammates publicly after the loss. “Whoever wants to stay, stay; whoever does not want to stay should go,” Martínez told DAZN after the match. “I have seen a lot of things that I didn’t like. I want to win.” The forward’s comments come after an 11-month-long season where they ended runners-up in both the Champions League and the Serie A. Inter Milan appointed former defender Cristian Chivu as head coach following their 5-0 Champions League final defeat just before the Club World Cup. The new coach supported Martínez’s harsh assessment of the team. The Brazilian side’s victory continues South American clubs’ strong showing in the tournament, with Fluminense becoming the second Brazilian team to reach the quarterfinal. Fluminense’s Everaldo celebrated the victory as validation of South America...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Germán Cano scored on a header three minutes into the match, and Fluminense held on to upset Champions League finalist Inter Milan 2-0 to advance to the Club World Cup quarterfinals in front of a sparse crowd of 20,030 at Bank of America Stadium on Monday. The Brazilians move on to face the Manchester City-Al Hilal winner on Friday in Orlando, Florida. Almost before both teams were able to break a sweat in the 90-degrees Fahrenheit heat, Jhon Arias sent a slightly deflected crossing pass from the right corner that Cano headed between goalkeeper Yann Sommer’s legs into the net for a 1-0 lead. It was all they would need. The Brazilians appeared to add to their lead late in the first half, but Ignacio’s header into the net was waived off due to being offside. On the other end of the pitch, Milan kept pressing, eager for the tie. The Italians controlled the time of possession throughout the match, owning the ball 68 per cent of the time, and certainly had its chance...

Stephen Hart, former coach of the Canadian national team and Halifax Wanderers of the Canadian Premier League, has been named interim coach of the Northern Super League’s Halifax Tides FC. The 65-year-old Hart succeeds Lewis Page, who has shifted roles to help establish the Tides development academy. At 1-6-1, Halifax sits in the basement of the six-team NSL after losing three straight games. “It’s an honour to step into this role,” Hart said in a statement. “Our team is focused, resilient and committed to growing together both on and off the field. I’m excited to lead this next chapter and help guide the players through the remainder of the season with passion, purpose and pride.” Hart coached the Canadian men in various stints from 2006 to 2012, posting a 20-15-10 record. He resigned in October 2021 after an 8-1 loss to Honduras ended Canada’s World Cup qualifying run. After coaching his native Trinidad and Tobago, Hart took charge of the Halifax entry in the CPL for its debut se...

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Harry Kane scored twice and Bayern Munich capitalized on a quick start to beat Flamengo 4-2 in the Club World Cup round of 16 on Sunday. Germany’s premier soccer club regrouped quickly from its only loss of the tournament last week against Benfica, jumping out to a 2-0 lead and then holding off Flamengo’s comeback attempt to advance to the quarterfinals. Bayern Munich will face Champions League winner Paris Saint-Germain on Saturday in Atlanta. Kane’s first goal was a deflected strike nine minutes in that made it 2-0, and the prolific goal scorer found the back of the net again on a feed from teammate Joshua Kimmich that he whipped past goalie Agustín Rossi. The Bundesliga champion struck early when Flamengo star Erick Pulgar headed the ball into his own net off Joshua Kimmich’s corner six minutes into the match.  Flamengo answered when Gerson fired a strike past Manuel Neuer in the 32nd to cut the deficit to a goal before Leon Goretzka put made...

ATLANTA — The champions of Europe booted Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami teammates out of the Club World Cup on Sunday. Paris Saint-Germain, Messi’s former club and the team that won the Champions League final only a few weeks ago, contained one of the game’s greatest players at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and routed Inter Miami 4-0 in the round of 16. Defensive struggles again plagued Miami with all four of PSG’s goals coming before halftime. An early injury to defender Noah Allen contributed to then team’s problems, while goalkeeper Oscar Ustari continued to excel. Offensively, Messi and his forward line spent the majority of the first half in their own half. The second-half performance improved, but the team appeared to be overly reliant on a moment of Messi magic to help them advance. Inter Miami was the only Major League Soccer team to advance to the expanded tournament’s knockout round. The team defied expectations with a 2-1 victory over Portuguese club FC...

It took CF Montreal nine games, but the Major League Soccer squad finally won a home game, beating New York City FC 1-0 on Saturday evening. Victor Loturi was the lone goal scorer for Montreal (3-12-5), which completed the season sweep over New York (8-7-4) for the first time ever. Montreal started the game at Stade Saputo on the front foot, looking to progress from the wide areas of the field and break down a resolute New York low block. Dante Sealy on the right wing was particularly potent in the opening stages of play, driving most of Montreal’s attack. In the 23rd minute, he found himself isolated with a defender and let off a powerful shot that was spilled to Loturi, who made no mistake and scored his first goal for the club. With momentum and the lead, Montreal continued to press for a second goal but to no avail. New York responded in kind, closing out the half with an attacking stint of its own, forcing Montreal to drop deep and absorb pressure for the first time...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Christopher Nkunku scored off a rebound in extra time and Chelsea went on to beat Benfica 4-1 in a Club World Cup Round of 16 match Saturday at Bank of America Stadium that was delayed for two hours due to lightning and took nearly five hours to complete. Chelsea advances to play Palmeiras in the quarterfinals Friday in Philadelphia. Palmeiras beat Botafogo 1-0 on Saturday. Nkunku’s tiebreaking goal came in the 108th minute with Benfica playing a man down after Gianluca Prestianni received a red card. Moisés Caicedo’s left-footed shot from the left side of the box was saved in the centre of the goal by Anatolii Trubin, but an alert Nkunku was there to bury the deflection into the top right corner before being mobbed by teammates. Pedro Neto and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall added insurance goals in extra time for the final margin. Reece James scored on a free kick in the 64th minute to give Chelsea a 1-0 lead. But with four minutes left, the match was stopped be...

PHILADELPHIA — Paulinho worked his way between a pair of defenders and rolled a shot into the back of the net in extra time Saturday to put Palmeiras into the quarterfinals of the Club World Cup with a 1-0 victory over Brazilian league rival Botafogo. Paulinho, who has made one appearance for Brazil’s national team, dribbled through the defense with an inside cut from the right wing in the 100th minute. He then sent a left-footed shot into the lower left corner of John’s net. Botafogo created multiple chances for an equalizer in the final minutes but couldn’t get a goal. The match at Lincoln Financial Field was full of attacking soccer with a combined 35 shot attempts. Palmeiras, however, ended the match with 10 men after defender Gustavo Gómez was given a red card. Gómez received a second yellow card in the 116th minute after tackling Igor Jesus in midfield to prevent Botafogo from starting a counterattack. The 33,657 fans in attendance helped set the tone for the match with ince...

Former France midfielder Paul Pogba joined Monaco on a two-year contract on Saturday in a bid to relaunch a stellar career derailed by injuries and a doping ban. Monaco confirmed the widely expected transfer on the club website, and in a video posted on X, with the 32-year-old Pogba wearing the club’s red-and-white jersey. The former Juventus and Manchester United player will play in the French top flight for the first time. Monaco finished third in Ligue 1 last season and Pogba, who has been without a club since leaving Juventus last year, gets the chance to play Champions League soccer again providing Monaco gets through qualifying. Pogba honed his technique in France at Le Havre’s academy but signed with Manchester United at age 16 in 2009. Previously one of the world’s top midfielders, Pogba made more headlines in recent years with his off-field problems. Last year, Juventus said it came to “a mutual agreement” with him to cancel his contract desp...

The hurt continues for Toronto FC, with defender Zane Monlouis the latest player to be sidelined. The former England youth international, who left the Arsenal under-23 side to sign with TFC in February, fell awkwardly while trying to make a tackle in Wednesday’s 1-1 draw with the visiting New York Red Bulls. He fell to the ground, clutching his groin area, and had to be helped off the field. “It’s going to be a long-term injury again,” Toronto coach Robin Fraser said after training Friday. “Something in the hip, groin area. And these sort of things, they seem to take quite a while. “With regards to injuries, if we didn’t have bad luck, we’d have no luck, it seems like.” Toronto (3-10-5) was missing eight players mid-week, six injured and two on international duty, prompting Fraser to deploy the 21-year-old Monlouis, primarily a centre back, at right back. The injured were defenders Kobe Franklin, Nicksoen Gomis and Henry Wingo, midfielders Jonathan Osorio and Markus Cimermancic, ...

LOS ANGELES — Olivier Giroud is parting ways with Los Angeles FC after one disappointing year with the Major League Soccer club. The 38-year-old Giroud and LAFC announced the decision Friday on social media. He will play in his final match Sunday night at home against Vancouver. After scoring only five goals in 37 matches for LAFC, Giroud will become a free agent after his departure. He is widely expected to join Lille, which finished fifth in the French league last season, on a free transfer. “I want to thank all of the fans, my teammates and the staff at LAFC for making this an enjoyable stop in my career,” Giroud said in a statement. “I am happy to have played a part in the success of LAFC. From winning a trophy last season to participating in the Club World Cup, this has been a great experience in LA for me and my family.” Giroud joined LAFC in July 2024 as a designated player after a long European career highlighted by prolific tenures with Arsenal and Chelsea. The top go...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Salem Aldawsari scored in the 22nd minute and Al Hilal beat Pachuca 2-0 on Thursday night to clinch a berth in the Club World Cup round of 16. Marcus Leonardo also scored for Al Hilal, the only team outside Europe and the Americas to advance out of group play. Al Hilal will next face English club Manchester City on Monday in Orlando, Florida. Aldawsari, attacking from the left, scored with the ball bouncing off his right foot and soaring over the head of Pachuca goalie Sebastian Jurado to the right side of the goal. The game drew 14,147 to Geodis Park, which has a capacity of 30,000. Key Moment As Pachuca kept trying to keep the pace up, Leonardo scored his first goal of the tournament in the last minute of extra time, dribbling swiftly past Jurado and sending a left-footed shot in to secure Al Hilal’s spot in the round of 16. Takeaways Al Hilal is the second team from Group H to move on, as Real Madrid clinched through a 3-0 victory against RB Salzburg. ...

WASHINGTON — Kaku scored early in the second half to lift Al Ain to a 2-1 victory over Wydad on Thursday in the final match of the Club World Cup for both clubs. Both teams were already eliminated from contention for the tournament’s knockout round. They went into the final group match without a win in Group G, which was dominated by Juventus and Manchester City. Manchester City defeated Juventus 5-2 simultaneously in Orlando, Florida, to claim the top spot in the group. Wydad coach Mohamed Amine Benhachem was at the game on crutches following a traffic accident with a team physician earlier in the week. No one involved in the accident was seriously injured, but the Moroccan coach was unable to attend the team’s news conference the day before the match. Wydad scored in the fourth minute. Cassius Mailula found himself unchallenged at the end of a cross by Mohamed Moufid and beat goalkeeper Rui Patrício at the near post. Mailula is currently on loan to Wydad from Toronto FC in Major ...

CF Montreal remains winless at home after losing 3-1 to FC Cincinnati in Major League Soccer action Wednesday night. Brazilian midfielder Evander scored twice to reach nine goals on the season while Luca Orellano also found the back of the net for Cincinnati (11-5-3), which ranks second in the Eastern Conference. Cincinnati had one victory in its previous five games. Prince Owusu converted his third goal in two games for Montreal (2-12-5). The club failed to carry momentum into the match after earning its second win this season, 3-1 over the Houston Dynamo on June 14. Montreal, which sits last in the East, fell to 0-5-3 at Stade Saputo. Assistant coach David Sauvry filled in for interim head coach Marco Donadel along the touchline Wednesday. Donadel served a one-match suspension for an accumulation of yellow cards. Evander opened the scoring just before first-half injury time when he controlled a hard cross from DeAndre Yedlin and slotted a left-footed finish past Montreal ‘keeper...

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Fluminense held the Mamelodi Sundowns to a scoreless draw on Wednesday, denying the South African club the win they needed to advance to the knockout round at the Club World Cup. Fluminense finished second in Group F to Borussia Dortmund, which defeated Ulsan 1-0 in a simultaneous game in Cincinnati. Both Fluminense and Dortmund will await the results of other matches to learn their opponents in the round of 16. The Sundowns needed a win to advance. They had never won a Club World Cup match before defeating Ulsan in their opener. They then put up a valiant fight in a 4-3 loss to Dortmund. The Sundowns, the crowd favourite at Hard Rock Stadium, came out with energy, determined not to see their run in the tournament end. They dominated possession (68 per cent) in the opening half and made three shots on goal. Fluminense’s best chance in the half came in the 40th minute on Nonato’s attempt from the edge of the box. Forty-year-old Thiago Silva was on the bench fo...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Christian Gray scored Auckland City’s first goal of the Club World Cup early in the second half before a 50-minute suspension caused by lightning in the area, and the amateur team gained a 1-1 draw against Boca Juniors on Tuesday as the Argentine club was eliminated. On a humid day with a game-time temperature of 93 degrees (34 Celsius) the crowd of 16,899 at 30,109-capacity Geodis Park was forced to wait when play was suspended in the 54th minute, the fifth weather delay of the tournament’s group stage. Boca went ahead in the 26th minute when Lautaro Di Lollo’s header from a corner kick hit a post and bounced in off goalkeeper Nathan Garrow’s arm for an own goal. Gray tied the score in the 52nd with a header from Jerson Lagos’ corner kick. The match was suspended in the 54th. The start of Ulsan’s June 17 match against Mamelodi Sundowns in Orlando, Florida, was delayed 65 minutes by thunderstorms and the Salzburg-Pachuca game in Cincinnati the next day was stoppe...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Andreas Schjelderup scored in the 13th minute to give Benfica a 1-0 victory over Bayern Munich in scorching heat on Tuesday, sending the Portuguese club to the top of Group C in the Club World Cup. The loss dropped Bayern Munich to second place as Boca Juniors was eliminated. The game was played in a 97 degree temperature (36 Celsius). Benfica winger Gianluca Prestianni was attended by the medical staff in the 25th minute due to heat-related issues and was replaced in the 55th. Schjelderup ran onto a cross from Fredrik Aursnes and scored with a right-footed shot from near the penalty spot. Bayern’s Joshua Kimmich put the ball in the net in the 61st minute but the goal was disallowed because Harry Kane was in an offside position in the line of sight of goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin. Bayern lost its first match loss of the tournament as it struggled to find a rhythm ahead of the knockout stages later this week, despite a late attacking effort including a disallowed go...

SEATTLE — Paris Saint-Germain didn’t allow a single shot on goal as the European powerhouse beat the Seattle Sounders 2-0 on Monday and advanced to the Club World Cup round of 16. Paris Saint-Germain opened the scoring in the 35th minute when a shot from Vitinha that would’ve finished well wide of the net hit teammate Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and deflected into it. The UEFA Champions League winners scored again in the 66th minute as the Sounders’ transition defence broke down. Seattle failed to locate Achraf Hakimi, who was wide open by the back post. Bradley Barcola’s pass found him with plenty of time to control and strike. Paris Saint-Germain won Group B on a goal-differential tie after Atlético Madrid defeated Botafogo 1-0. The 68,740-capacity Lumen Field was lively with 50,628 fans. Key moment Jordan Morris returned to the pitch for the Sounders for the first time since April to a massive home-crowd ovation. It was a meaningful moment for fans as Morris, who grew up in the area,...

In the wake of the disappointing 1-1 draw with Curaçao, Canada has left itself some work to do in the final Group B game against El Salvador on Tuesday at the Gold Cup. A win over No. 90 Curaçao on Saturday would have guaranteed the 30th-ranked Canadians a berth in the quarterfinals. But conceding a 94th-minute goal raised the stakes somewhat for the game against No. 81 El Salvador at Shell Energy Stadium. Canada (1-0-1, four points) is still in the Group B driver’s seat, leading the standings ahead of Honduras (1-1-0, three points), Curaçao (0-0-2, two points) and El Salvador (0-1-1, one point). The top two from each of the four pools move on to the knockout round. Canada could still advance with a loss, given that only the Honduras-Curaçao winner will have more than four points. And while El Salvador, with a win, would have the same number of points as Canada, the Canadians go into the game with a sizable goal difference advantage (plus-six compared to minus-two for El Salvador a...

LONDON — New York Jets owner Woody Johnson is finally set to get his hands on an English soccer team. Premier League side Crystal Palace announced on Monday that Johnson has signed “a legally binding contract” to buy the shares of fellow American John Textor, who has a 43 per cent stake in the London club. Reports have placed the price between $220 million and $260 million. “Whilst the completion is pending approval from the Premier League and Women’s Super League, we do not envisage any issues and look forward to welcoming Woody as a partner and director of the club,” Palace said in  a statement . “We would like to go on record to thank John Textor for his contribution over the past four years and wish him every success for the future.” Johnson submitted a bid to buy Chelsea in 2022 but was unsuccessful. The sale of Textor’s shares boosts Palace’s hopes of playing in the Europa League next season, having qualified thanks to its FA Cup final victory over Manchester City last ...

ATLANTA — Ilkay Gündogan had a pair of goals, Erling Haaland scored on a penalty and Manchester City locked up its spot in the knockout round of the Club World Cup with a 6-0 rout of Al Ain on Sunday night. Claudio Echeverri, Oscar Bobb and Rayan Cherki also scored for City, which is trying to put an encouraging capper on a disappointing season. The English powerhouse finished third in the Premier League after four straight championships and went down to Real Madrid in the knockout playoff of the UEFA Champions League. With an entirely new lineup after a 2-0 win over Morocco’s Wydad in the group opener, Man City produced a dominating performance in Atlanta against an overmatched club from the United Arab Emirates. The time of possession was a staggering 74% in favor of the English side, which outshot Al Ain 21-5. Haaland buried the penalty for his 32nd goal of the season across all competitions after a video review found that Rami Rabia took down ...

Concacaf Gold Cup matches can be an absolute grind, which means tournament management becomes vital for any nation that hopes to win it all. This was a valuable lesson that the Canadian men’s team learned in its second outing of the continental competition. After rampaging to an easy 6-0 win over Honduras in its opening game earlier this week, Canada looked to be well on its way to another victory after jumping out to an early 1-0 lead over Curaçao on Saturday night. But the Canadians wilted under the hot sun that blanketed Houston’s Shell Energy Stadium, conceding deep into injury time and settling for a disappointing 1-1 draw against their lower-ranked Concacaf rivals. With a victory on Saturday, Les Rouges could have clinched a spot in the quarterfinals with one game to spare in the group stage. As it stands, Canada will now have to wait until its Group B finale against El Salvador in Houston next Tuesday in order to book its spot in the knockout round. It could have been so d...

SEATTLE — Valentin Carboni scored the game-winning goal in stoppage time to give Inter Milan a 2-1 win over Urawa in the Club World Cup on Saturday, ending the Japan club’s chances of advancing past the group stage. Inter Milan held the vast majority of possession, but failed to score until the 78th minute when Lautaro Martinez brilliantly bicycle kicked Nicolo Barella’s corner ball into the net. Carboni’s game-winner came in the second minute of stoppage time and was assisted by fellow substitute Francesco Esposito. The Urawa Red Diamonds opened the scoring in the 11th minute. Takuro Kaneko assisted Ryoma Watanabe in transition, finding Watanabe all alone on the penalty spot with his cutback ball. Key moment Urawa had one final chance to equalize in the last minute of stoppage time, but goalkeeper Yann Sommer tipped the long-distance attempt directly from the free kick over the crossbar. Takeaways Inter Milan takes over the top spot in Group E after following up their tournamen...