Pep Guardiola slams his Manchester City side after Club World Cup exit to Al Hilal
'The level in this competition is a World Cup,' said Guardiola, who led City to the Club World Cup title in 2023.
"The only regret I have is that we allowed them to run a little bit more than expected.
'Against a team that defended so deep, the wingers have been brilliant. The chances that we had in many, many departments.
'Bounou made a lot of saves and, in the end, you have to score, you have to be clinical.'
City had taken a ninth minute lead through Bernardo Silva but a string of saves from Bounou in what remained of the opening 45 minutes kept the Saudis in contention.
Leonardo and Malcom scored inside the first six minutes of the second half to turn the tables on Guardiola's side before Erling Haaland levelled in the 55th minute, taking the game into extra-time.
Kalidou Koulibaly's header put Al-Hilal back in front, only for Phil Foden to equalise again for City, and Leonardo eventually killed off the Premier League side eight minutes from the end of extra-time.
The win takes Al-Hilal through to a quarter-final meeting with Brazil's Fluminense while City return to England.
'We would have loved to continue, it's not easy to be here once every four years,' said Guardiola.
'The team still has that feeling, that the team is doing well. But we go home and now it's time to rest, to refresh our minds and come back for next season.'
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8. Italy Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo The Italian women's team don't have quite the same rich footballing tradition as their male counterparts. They have not gone further than the quarter-finals at the World Cup and have never won the Euros. The closest Italy came in the latter competition was a runners-up spot in 1993 and 1997. They have not fared so well recently, with group stage exits at the last two tournaments. The Azzurri would do well to surpass that achievement this time around, with a tricky-looking group that also features Spain, Portugal and Belgium. Their status as 13th in the Fifa rankings suggests they are one of the best sides in the competition, and they got on relatively well in qualifying, losing only once and topping a League A group that also featured Netherlands, Norway and Finland, all of whom have ultimately qualified for this tournament. 7. Denmark Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo Another side who have never tested glory, with their best performance coming in 2017, when they reached the final. The Danes are not expected to repeat that performance in 2025, but their squad still boasts some quality players. Bayern Munich attacker Pernille Harder was a Ballon d'Or runner-up in 2018 and has 78 goals from 162 international appearances, while Roma's Sanne Troelsgaard is closing in on 200 caps for her country. 6. Netherlands Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo The champions at the 2017 tournament, since then, the Netherlands have not been able to eclipse that achievement, though they came close in 2019, reaching the World Cup final. There is a sense that the team have been in slight decline thereafter, with disappointing quarter-final exits at the 2022 Euros and 2023 World Cup, although the latter defeat was a narrow extra-time loss to eventual champions Spain. 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Although they made it to the final in 2022, before losing after extra-time against England, they flopped at the last World Cup, failing to emerge from a group that included Colombia, Morocco and South Korea. It won't be easy to surpass that feat this time, as they have been paired with Poland, Denmark and Sweden. Yet the two-time world champions came through qualifying with relative ease, winning five out of six games and topping their group ahead of Iceland, Austria and Poland. Managed by Christian Wück since last year, they also have a couple of players who are considered among the absolute elite of the game. Bayern Munich pair Giulia Gwinn and Lea Schüller, as well as Chelsea's Sjoeke Nüsken, all made the top 30 in the voting for the 2024 Ballon d'Or Féminin. 3. France Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo Despite losing to Ireland at Páirc Uí Chaoimh, France marginally topped a very difficult qualifying group ahead of England, Sweden and the then-Eileen Gleeson-managed team. Getting out of their group at the Euros proper won't be easy either, as they have been drawn again with England, along with the Netherlands and Ireland's playoff conquerors, Wales. Any team that can escape that group has to be considered among the favourites, and France are well placed to lay claim to that status. In striker Marie-Antoinette Katoto and midfielder Grace Geyoro, both of whom represent PSG, they boast unquestionably two of the world's best players. Yet their record in the competition is less than spectacular. In eight appearances, their best performance was reaching the semi-finals in 2022, when they were knocked out by Germany. Managed by Laurent Bonadei (a former assistant coach of the Saudi Arabia national team under Hervé Renard), they have also exited at the quarter-finals in the last three successive World Cups, and their current Fifa ranking of 10th indicates they may again have to settle for a knockout stages exit, though a victory away to England in qualifying illustrates they are capable of competing with the very best on their day. 2. England Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo The holders and fancied by many pundits to retain their trophy. The fact that English football has the reigning European champions in club football, Arsenal, bodes well for the national team's hopes, and the Gunners only finishing second in the Women's Super League, 12 points adrift of Chelsea, is a testament to the rude health of the country's domestic competition. Manager Sarina Wiegman is one of the most acclaimed coaches in the world. They also boast top-class talent such as Lauren James, Lucy Bronze, Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo, who was recently nominated for the PFA Player of the Year and could be a Ballon d'Or contender, particularly if England emerge as winners, after already helping inspire Arsenal's Champions League success. The Three Lions weren't entirely convincing in qualifying, dropping points in three of their six games, but they should get out of a group featuring France, Netherlands and Wales, and they will at least hope to continue their impressive recent record — they have made the final of the last two major tournaments and are aiming for a sixth successive semi-final appearance. 1. Spain Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo The reigning world champions are the team to beat, and on paper at least, most people would agree they have the most talented squad of all the sides at the tournament. Qualifying was a relative breeze as they topped their group and won five out of six matches. 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