عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Sports

Sports Minister Hails Success of FIFA Club World Cup 2023 in Saudi Arabia

Soccer Football - Club World Cup - Final - Manchester City v Fluminense - King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - December 22, 2023 General view of Manchester City fans in the stands after the match REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
Soccer Football - Club World Cup - Final - Manchester City v Fluminense - King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - December 22, 2023 General view of Manchester City fans in the stands after the match REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
TT
20
TT

Sports Minister Hails Success of FIFA Club World Cup 2023 in Saudi Arabia

Soccer Football - Club World Cup - Final - Manchester City v Fluminense - King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - December 22, 2023 General view of Manchester City fans in the stands after the match REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
Soccer Football - Club World Cup - Final - Manchester City v Fluminense - King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - December 22, 2023 General view of Manchester City fans in the stands after the match REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

The Minister of Sports and Chairman of the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki bin Faisal, confirmed the success of the global event represented by the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup, which fulfilled all its promises and reflected the capabilities of the Kingdom in hosting the largest and most important continental and international sporting events.

“We are happy with the success of this global event, as the sports sector received all the generous support and great interest from the Saudi leadership, which made our great homeland a preferred destination in various sports and all forums,” he said.

Prince Abdulaziz thanked FIFA for its great efforts and cooperation to make this edition of the tournament a success in the Kingdom, which was marked by the crowning of the English Manchester City team as a new champion for the Club World Cup for the first time in its history.

He also cited the great enthusiasm and fierce competition among all the participating teams, amid a remarkable public presence from different continents of the world, who participated in making this event a success.

The Minister of Sports congratulated the English Manchester City team for achieving the 2023 Club World Cup title, wishing all other teams good luck and success in the upcoming competitions.

Most Viewed

 
Sports

PSG Ousts Liverpool from Champions League to Join Barcelona, Bayern and Inter in QF

PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and teammates celebrate after winning the penalty shoot-out during the UEFA Champions League Round of 16, 2nd leg soccer match between Liverpool FC and Paris Saint-Germain, in Liverpool, Britain, 11 March 2025. EPA/ADAM VAUGHAN
PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and teammates celebrate after winning the penalty shoot-out during the UEFA Champions League Round of 16, 2nd leg soccer match between Liverpool FC and Paris Saint-Germain, in Liverpool, Britain, 11 March 2025. EPA/ADAM VAUGHAN
TT
20
TT

PSG Ousts Liverpool from Champions League to Join Barcelona, Bayern and Inter in QF

PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and teammates celebrate after winning the penalty shoot-out during the UEFA Champions League Round of 16, 2nd leg soccer match between Liverpool FC and Paris Saint-Germain, in Liverpool, Britain, 11 March 2025. EPA/ADAM VAUGHAN
PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and teammates celebrate after winning the penalty shoot-out during the UEFA Champions League Round of 16, 2nd leg soccer match between Liverpool FC and Paris Saint-Germain, in Liverpool, Britain, 11 March 2025. EPA/ADAM VAUGHAN

Gianluigi Donnarumma came through and Paris Saint-Germain defeated Liverpool in a penalty shootout to join Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Inter Milan in the quarterfinals of the Champions League on Tuesday.
PSG beat Liverpool 1-0 on the night to level the aggregate score at 1-1. Ousmane Dembélé scored 12 minutes into the second-leg match after a blunder by the Liverpool defense, The Associated Press reported.
After extra time, Donnarumma stopped the penalty shots by Darwin Nunez and Curtis Jones to secure his team a 4-1 shootout win. Desire Doue scored the winning spot kick for PSG, which will face either Aston Villa or Club Brugge.
“It does not matter if we deserve the win. Both teams deserved to go through," PSG coach Luis Enrique said. “We were better in Paris and they were better here. My team showed great personality and character at Anfield.”
The French league leader — seeking its first Champions League title — had lost at this stage in five of the past eight editions. It lost to Borussia Dortmund in last season's semifinals.
“It was the best game of football I have ever been involved in," Liverpool manager Arne Slot said. "It was an incredible performance, especially if you compare it with last week. We were creating chances and then we were 1-0 down. We ran out of luck after last week.”
Barcelona cruised past Benfica with Raphinha scoring twice and Lamine Yamal once in a 3-1 win at home.
The Catalan club advanced 4-1 on aggregate score after last week’s 1-0 victory and will play either Borussia Dortmund or Lille in the quarterfinals.
After a 3-0 first-leg win, Bayern Munich had no trouble advancing past German rival Bayer Leverkusen.
Bayern made it to the last eight a record 23 times in the Champions League era after a 2-0 win at Leverkusen to advance 5-0 on aggregate.
Inter moved on past Feyenoord with a 2-1 victory at San Siro to advance 4-1 on aggregate.
Bayern and Inter will meet in the last eight.
A thrilling clash at Anfield saw chances come and go at both ends, with Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson pulling off a string of saves to deny PSG, and with Liverpool substitute Jarell Quansah hitting the post in the second half.
Dembélé took advantage of mix up between Ibrahima Konate and Alisson to roll the ball into the empty net for the only goal of the game.
Premier League leader Liverpool, which did not make it to the Champions League last season, won the first leg 1-0 through Harvey Elliott’s late goal in Paris last week.
Barcelona powers into quarterfinals Raphinha’s double made him the leading scorer in the Champions League this season with 11 goals. He had scored the lone goal last week in Lisbon.
The Brazil forward put Barcelona ahead in the 11th, then Yamal added to the lead in the 27th before assisting in Raphinha’s second goal in the 42nd to become the youngest player to score and assist in a Champions League match at 17 years, 241 days.
“My teammates make things much easier for me,” Yamal said. “It was a good goal but sometimes these things come off and sometimes they don’t. For the assist, I tried to shoot and Raphinha turned it into a goal.”
Nicolás Otamendi scored for Benfica in the 13th to become the third-oldest scorer in a Champions League knockout game at the age of 37 years, 27 days, according to UEFA. Yamal’s goal meant he became the second-youngest.
Kane leads Bayern Harry Kane scored his 10th Champions League goal of the season and set up another as Bayern Munich cruised into the quarterfinals.
Leverkusen never looked likely to overturn the three-goal deficit from the first leg, even before Kane bundled in the ball at a free kick in the 52nd after Leverkusen’s Patrik Schick misjudged an attempted clearance.
Kane set up Alphonso Davies for Bayern’s second goal with a flicked cross in the 71st as the all-German rivalry became a one-sided contest. Bayern could have scored more as Jamal Musiala hit the crossbar with one shot and the post with another.
Inter comfortably advances A goal at the start of each half saw Inter easily advance, with Marcus Thuram scoring a stunning eighth-minute opener. The Inter forward received the ball midway inside the Feyenoord half and then weaved his way into the area before unleashing a powerful effort into the top right corner.
Jakub Moder leveled from the penalty spot shortly before halftime after being tripped by Hakan Çalhanoglu.
Inter restored its advantage on the night six minutes into the second half with a penalty of its own, which Çalhanoglu converted after Mehdi Taremi was fouled by Thomas Beelen right in the corner of the area.