Latest news with #FIFAClubWorldCup2025Champions
IOL News
15-07-2025
- Sport
- IOL News
Donald Trump weighs in on soccer's age-old GOAT debate: 'This player was tremendous'
GOAT according to Trump Chelsea's Cole Palmer is congratulated by US President Donald Trump after being awarded the Golden Ball trophy during the award ceremony for the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 Champions. Photo: Franck Fife/AFP US President Donald Trump has weighed in on the age-old debate over who is the greatest soccer player of all time. Trump, who attended Chelsea's FIFA Club World Cup final win over European champions Paris Saint-Germain in New Jersey on Sunday, snubbed both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, who are seen by modern football fans as the greatest to ever play the game. While names like Messi and Ronaldo have dominated the conversation in recent years, the likes of Pelé, Diego Maradona, Johan Cruyff, Eusébio, Alfredo Di Stéfano, Ferenc Puskás, and Zinedine Zidane have also been mentioned. But, due to being part of the Boomer generation, His Orangeness opted for a player who graced the pitch in the 1950s and 1960s when asked who he thought was the greatest footballer of all time.
IOL News
14-07-2025
- Sport
- IOL News
Cole Palmer shines as Chelsea triumphs over PSG in Club World Cup final
Chelsea's English defender #24 Reece James lifts the trophy with teammates and US President Donald Trump during the award ceremony for the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 Champions, following the final football match between England's Chelsea and France's Paris Saint-Germain at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on July 13, 2025. Picture: Franck Fife/AFP Image: Franck Fife/AFP Cole Palmer scored two goals and made another as Chelsea stunned Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in the final of the Club World Cup on Sunday, beating the European champions 3-0 before lifting the trophy alongside US President Donald Trump. PSG were the favourites after coming to the United States fresh from winning the Champions League and having destroyed Real Madrid 4-0 in the semi-finals. But having been three goals ahead early on in the semis, this time the roles were reversed as PSG found themselves 3-0 down by the break. Palmer opened the scoring midway through the first half and struck again to make it two on the half-hour mark, before taking advantage of passive defending to set up Joao Pedro for the third on 43 minutes. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading Joao Neves' Red Card and Chelsea's Victory Over PSG A bad day for PSG was summed up when Joao Neves was shown red following a VAR review four minutes from the end for pulling Marc Cucurella by the hair off the ball. 'Being Club World Cup champion is something for us to be proud of. We are very happy, especially against a team in PSG who I consider the best in the world with one of the best managers in the world,' said Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca, before hailing match-winner Palmer. 'These are the games where we expect Cole to appear because it is a big game, a big moment, and once again he showed how good he is.' Tensions and Triumph: Chelsea's Historic Club World Cup Victory and PSG's Disappointment Before Chelsea got to lift the trophy, tensions spilled over at full-time with players facing off on the pitch and Paris coach Luis Enrique raising his arm to the neck of Joao Pedro. 'There was a lot of pushing and shoving. It was a situation that obviously should have been avoided, but my intention was clearly just to try to separate the players,' said Luis Enrique. The scoreline was one few could have predicted as Chelsea capped what has been a long but memorable season — they are the first ever winners of the 32-team Club World Cup having also won the UEFA Conference League and finished fourth in the Premier League. They will also take away around $125 million in prize money, meaning the prospect of a drastically curtailed summer break before returning for next season will surely feel worth it. For PSG, meanwhile, the financial rewards are similar but there will be genuine disappointment at falling short of adding this title to their Champions League triumph and French league and cup double. Nevertheless, conquering Europe was always the main aim this season for Luis Enrique's team, who now have exactly a month to digest this and take a holiday before returning to action in the UEFA Super Cup against Tottenham Hotspur. Donald Trump in attendance There was a real sense of occasion at the MetLife Stadium, with the backdrop of the Manhattan skyline and with Trump in attendance along with First Lady Melania Trump in a crowd of 81,118. For the second time in six weeks PSG found themselves involved in a final that quickly turned into a one-sided affair. The club claimed a historic 5-0 win over Inter Milan in the Champions League final, but here they were ripped apart by Chelsea. The opening goal came in the 22nd minute as Malo Gusto got the better of Nuno Mendes down the right before seeing his shot blocked by Lucas Beraldo. The ball came back to Gusto and he teed up Palmer to finish into the bottom-left corner. Palmer has been the face of Chelsea on billboards in the United States during the tournament and he lived up to his star status by scoring again on the half-hour. Released on the right with PSG left-back Mendes out of position, Palmer advanced towards the box before stroking a low shot into the same corner. Joao Pedro played a part in the build-up to that goal and the Brazilian, signed during the tournament from Brighton, then got his name on the scoresheet to make it 3-0. Scorer of both goals against Fluminense in the semi-finals, he clipped a shot past Gianluigi Donnarumma after being supplied by Palmer. PSG had conceded a single goal in their previous eight matches and they never really looked like producing a comeback, even if Neves headed just wide in first-half stoppage time. Substitute Liam Delap almost got a fourth for Chelsea midway through the second half, before Neves was shown red to complete a bad day for PSG. AFP
Sinar Daily
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Sinar Daily
Boos and applause for Trump at FIFA Club World Cup final
When a jumbotron screen briefly showed Trump saluting to the US national anthem, there was some booing in the giant stadium, before the camera quickly cut away. 14 Jul 2025 08:59am US President Donald Trump walks to the podium for the award ceremony for the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 Champions, following the final football match between England's Chelsea and France's Paris Saint-Germain at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on July 13, 2025. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP) EAST RUTHERFORD - Donald Trump experienced the rough side of football on Sunday as he was briefly booed at the final of the FIFA Club World Cup. The US president was applauded as he arrived for the match between Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea at the MetLife stadium in New Jersey, just outside New York City. US President Donald Trump waves next to FIFA President Gianni Infantino during the award ceremony for the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 Champions, following the final football match between England's Chelsea and France's Paris Saint-Germain at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on July 13, 2025. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP) But when a jumbotron screen briefly showed Trump saluting to the US national anthem, there was some booing in the giant stadium, before the camera quickly cut away. Trump, 79, had earlier taken his seat in a suite alongside First Lady Melania Trump and FIFA president Gianni Infantino. The Republican's appearance at the game also came on the first anniversary of the assassination attempt that he survived at an election rally in Pennsylvania. Trump has made no secret of his desire to use this year's club championship and next year's 2026 World Cup as symbols of the "Golden Age of America" during his second term in the White House. Next year's World Cup, the final of which will be held at the same stadium, will coincide with the 250th anniversary of America's independence. Trump has even set up a White House task force to ensure next year's championship -- hosted jointly with Canada and Mexico -- goes smoothly. 'He loves it' Another factor in his appearance at the match is that Trump has fostered a close relationship with Infantino, who has been a frequent visitor to the White House. Trump has kept the Club World Cup trophy next to his desk in the Oval Office since the FIFA president dropped by in March. Infantino, who is no stranger to dealing with hard-nosed world leaders including Russia's Vladimir Putin ahead of the 2018 World Cup, thanked Trump for his support on Saturday. He said Trump had "embraced immediately the importance of the FIFA Club World Cup, and of course of the World Cup next year." Infantino also joked that Trump "certainly loves as well the trophy" -- whose gold-plated curves match the gilded makeover that the president has given the Oval Office. But Trump's fondness of football, or soccer as he would say, is also personal. The president's 19-year-old son Barron is a fan, as Infantino pointed out in a press conference at FIFA's new office in Trump Tower in New York on Saturday. Asked if Trump liked the game, Infantino replied: "Well I think he does. In his first term as president of the United States, there was a soccer goal in the garden of the White House. "He then explained to me that his son loved football, and that he loved the game. And of course when you are a parent, you love what your children love, so I think that he loves it." As a boarding school student at the New York Military Academy, Trump himself also reportedly played the game for a season. 'Go home' But in typical form, Trump has also mixed political controversy with his football fandom. Hosting Italian side Juventus in the Oval Office in June, he delivered a diatribe on transgender people in sports before asking the players: "Could a woman make your team, fellas?" Most of the players looked bemused before Juventus general manager Damien Comolli replied: "We have a very good women's team." "He's being very diplomatic," said Trump. Trump's hardline immigration crackdown -- part of his "America First" policy -- has meanwhile sparked fears that football fans will be discouraged from coming to the United States for the 2026 World Cup. In May, Vice President JD Vance said that fans would be "welcome to come... but when the time is up, they will have to go home." - AFP More Like This
Al-Ahram Weekly
13-07-2025
- Sport
- Al-Ahram Weekly
PHOTO GALLERY: Chelsea the unlikely Club World Champion
§ § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § Chelsea's English defender #24 Reece James lifts the trophy with teammates during the award ceremony for the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 Champions, following the final football match between England's Chelsea and France's Paris Saint-Germain at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on July 13, 2025. AFP § Cole Palmer #10 of Chelsea FC lifts the FIFA Club World Cup trophy after their team's victory following the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 Final match between Chelsea FC and Paris Saint-Germain at MetLife Stadium on July 13, 2025. AFP
