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Malay Mail
a day ago
- General
- Malay Mail
Achilles op forces Kovacic out of Manchester City's Club World Cup squad and Croatia fixtures
MANCHESTER, June 2 — Manchester City midfielder Mateo Kovacic will miss the FIFA Club World Cup after undergoing surgery to repair an Achilles tendon injury, the Premier League club said on Monday. The Croatian has been hampered by the injury for a while and sat out last month's 1-0 FA Cup final loss to Crystal Palace. 'Mateo will spend the summer rehabilitating from the operation and everyone at the club wishes him a speedy recovery,' the club said in a statement. The 31-year-old was not included in the squad for Croatia's World Cup qualifiers against Gibraltar on June 6 and the Czech Republic on June 9. Kovacic scored seven goals in 42 appearances for City this past season across all competitions. City kick off their Club World Cup campaign in the United States on June 18 against Wydad AC. — Reuters
The Independent
a day ago
- General
- The Independent
Mateo Kovacic ruled out of Club World Cup after undergoing surgery
Manchester City midfielder Mateo Kovacic will miss the Club World Cup after undergoing surgery for an achilles tendon injury. The Croatian has been battling the injury for a while and it caused him to miss the 1-0 FA Cup final loss to Crystal Palace last month. He has now had it repaired with surgery and could be set to miss three months. He will certainly be out for the upcoming Club World Cup in the United States – which you can sign up to DAZN to watch now – where City begin their campaign against Wydad AC of Morocco on 18 June before further group-stage matches against Al Ain of UAE four days later and Juventus on 26 June. 'Manchester City can confirm that Mateo Kovacic has undergone surgery on an achilles injury,' read a club statement. 'The Croatian midfielder is now set to miss the Fifa Club World Cup as City head to the USA in June. 'Mateo will spend the summer rehabilitating from the operation and everyone at the club wishes him a speedy recovery.' Given that he missed the FA Cup final and will now be absent from the Club World Cup, the 31-year-old's final game of the season was a 3-1 win over Bournemouth where he was sent off on 67 minutes. Kovacic scored seven goals in 42 appearances for City across all competitions during the campaign and will also miss Croatia's upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Gibraltar on June 6 and the Czech Republic on June 9.
New York Times
a day ago
- General
- New York Times
Mateo Kovacic to have surgery on Achilles injury, expected to miss around three months
Manchester City midfielder Mateo Kovacic has undergone surgery for an Achilles injury and is expected to be sidelined for around three months, according to Croatia national team head coach Zlatko Dalic. Kovacic is set to miss City's Club World Cup campaign, which begins on June 18 against Moroccan side Wydad AC. City's other Group E opponents are Abu-Dhabi based Al Ain and Serie A's Juventus. Advertisement City confirmed on Monday morning that Kovacic has undergone an operation on his Achilles. 'Mateo will spend the summer rehabilitating from the operation and everyone at the club wishes him a speedy recovery,' a club statement read. Dalic also said that the injury caused the 31-year-old to miss last month's FA Cup final. Crystal Palace beat City 1-0 on May 17 as the south London club won their first ever major trophy. Kovacic was not included in the Croatia squad for upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Gibraltar on June 6 and the Czech Republic on June 9. 'Mateo has been suffering from an injury for some time, which is why he missed the FA Cup final against Manchester City,' said Dalic. 'It's a heel tendon. In agreement with the club doctors, he decided to have surgery, and he should be out for about three months.' Kovacic featured regularly under Pep Guardiola this season, making 42 appearances in all competitions and scoring seven goals. He has played 88 times for the club since joining from Chelsea in June 2023 for an initial fee of £25million, plus £5million in add-ons. After beginning his career at Dinamo Zagreb in Croatia, Kovacic moved to Real Madrid in 2013, where he won the Champions League three times and also lifted the La Liga trophy. He signed for Chelsea on loan in August 2018 and joined permanently the following year, and won his fourth Champions League in 2021. Kovacic made his Croatia debut in 2013 and has been capped 110 times by the team, helping the side reach the final of the 2018 World Cup, where they were defeated 4-2 by France. ()
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
FIFA Club World Cup 2025: City's first appearances at major tournaments
This summer's FIFA Club World Cup represents a new dawn for elite club football. Freshly expanded into a 32-team month-long festival, this year's inaugural edition of the new format sees many of the world's best sides competing in 11 US cities. Advertisement City previously lifted the FIFA Club World Cup in 2023, when just seven teams were in attendance in Saudi Arabia, with the Blues needing to play just twice to earn the crown. WATCH THE FIFA CLUB WORLD CUP 2025 ON DAZN This time around, we're in a one of eight groups of four alongside Wydad AC, Al Ain and Juventus – with all four sides competing for the right to play in the Round of 16. From that point, there will be single knockout ties played across the US with the ultimate goal of reaching the final at the MetLife Stadium on 13 July. WATCH: Gvardiol: We could achieve something really special at FIFA Club World Cup Advertisement This competition is scheduled to be played every four years, with only the most successful sides of the previous qualification window making it. It's a dynamic addition to an already thorough football calendar, with City aiming to add yet another piece of silverware to our trophy cabinet. GET YOUR FIFA CLUB WORLD CUP 2025 TICKETS NOW We've won so much in our storied 131-year history as Manchester City, including 10 top-flight titles and seven FA Cups, as well as continental prizes such as the Champions League and UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. But how did we fare in each tournament during our first appearance? We take a look back here… First Division After five seasons battling to get promoted from the Second Division following our renaming as Manchester City, we finally arrived in the top-flight in 1899/00. Advertisement That means it's now been 126 years since our first game in the top tier of English football! WATCH: 1968 Division One title highlights: Newcastle 3-4 City English football was dominated by sides from the north and the midlands in those days, with no London teams appearing in this year's league table. We finished a respectable seventh out of 18 that season, claiming 13 wins from our 34 games. Billy Meredith, widely considered football's first superstar, was our top scorer with 14 goals. We would have to wait until 1936/37 for our maiden First Division title and we then won it once more in 1967/68 before it rebranded as the Premier League in 1992. FA Cup Our first ever FA Cup appearance as Manchester City was not one that many looked back on with fondness, with First Division title hopefuls Preston North End defeating us 6-0 in the first round. Advertisement We wouldn't have too long to wait until our first FA Cup triumph though, winning the trophy in 1904. WATCH: Manchester's First Trophy With the most recent of our seven successes coming in 2023, that means the 119-year gap between first and most recent FA Cup win is the record longest. League Cup First introduced in 1960/61, the League Cup supplemented the league and FA Cup programme that had largely existed since the formalisation of the game. Our first ever League Cup encounter came against neighbours Stockport County – with Joe Hayes and a Denis Law brace seeing us through. Unfortunately, defeat at Portsmouth followed in the next round. Advertisement Our first triumph came in 1970 and was backed up in 1976, before six wins in eight seasons between 2014 and 2021. WATCH: Wembley wonders: Celebrating City's eight League Cup triumphs With eight League Cup trophies in total, we are the second most successful side in this competition's history. Cup Winners Cup Before the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League grew to their current scales, the Cup Winners Cup ensured due reward for domestic cup winners of the previous season. City played in the competition twice in successive seasons to great success. WATCH: Watch: Celebrations after our first European trophy! Advertisement We won the tournament in 1969/70 as part of a double alongside the League Cup, beating Athletic Club, Lierse, Academica, Schalke and Gornik Zabrze on the way. That earned us a return the following season, with City this time getting to the semi-finals before defeat to eventual champions Chelsea. The competition was merged with the UEFA Cup in 1999. Premier League The 'old' First Division in all but name, the Premier League came along in 1992 as the top tier of English football. With eight titles since this rebrand, we're the second most successful club of the era. However, that kind of status in the game looked along way off for much of the 1990s. Advertisement WATCH: Sergio Aguero | Season One Despite the difficulties to come, 1992/93 was a solid start to this brave new world – finishing ninth out of 22 with 57 points from 42 games. David White was our top scorer with 16 goals from 42 appearances, while the likes of Tony Coton, Keith Curle and Niall Quinn were also backbones of the side. Since Sergio Aguero's iconic 93:20 goal in 2012 earned us a maiden Premier League title, we've been the dominant team in the division – topping the table in eight of the 14 seasons. UEFA Cup/Europa League The UEFA Cup was introduced in 1971 as the second-tier continental competition behind the European Cup/Champions League. Advertisement City's first appearance in the competition came in 1972 but didn't last long, with Spanish side Valencia beating us home and away to progress through the knockout tie. We suffered first round exits in our next two appearances too, before a run to the quarter-finals in 1978/79 and again in 2008/09. Now named the Europa League, we also appeared in this tournament in 2010/11 and 2011/12. European Cup/Champions League Having won the First Division title in 1968, one of City's prizes was European Cup qualification in 1968/69. City were drawn against Fenerbahce in the first round, but Joe Mercer's team didn't show our best over the two-legged tie. Advertisement WATCH: City's dramatic journey to becoming European champions A goalless draw at Maine Road was followed by a 2-1 defeat in Turkey. Our first appearance in the Champions League, after its rebrand in 1992, came in 2011/12. With a maiden Premier League title also on our minds, City were handed a group of death against Bayern Munich, Napoli and Villarreal. We were edged out into third with 10 points from six matches and dropped into the Europa League. That was the first of what will next season be 15 successive year as part of this exclusive competition. Over the years, late goals and heartbreaking misses tormented City as we chased the biggest prize in European club football. Advertisement All of that was finally forgotten in 2023, when Rodri's goal in Istanbul saw us overcome Inter to deservedly lift the famous trophy for the first time. WATCH: City 1-0 Inter: Official short film FIFA Club World Cup This summer we head to the new version of the FIFA Club World Cup. The previous format of this competition still exists and has now been renamed the FIFA Intercontinental Cup – with the winners of each continent's premier competition all heading to one location for a short tournament. That's what we won in Jeddah in December 2023, with emphatic victories over Urawa Red Diamonds and Fluminense. Advertisement WATCH: Highlights: City 4-0 Fluminense Mateo Kovacic, Bernardo Silva and an own goal took us past the Japanese side in the last four. In the final, Julian Alvarez scored twice with Phil Foden and another own goal adding gloss to the scoreline. How to follow the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 DAZN will broadcast every minute from the event, with all 63 matches, live-streamed, free to view on DAZN globally, and in multiple languages. If you are already a DAZN subscriber or Freemium member, then the competition is part of your current membership. To sign up for a free DAZN account now you only need an email address to register, with no hidden costs or fees. Advertisement You can then watch all the action on the DAZN App via smart TVs, smartphones, tablets, streaming devices, game consoles and web browsers. Join now to be ready to watch DAZN's coverage for free. Every City match will be covered in full across and our official app, with our usual offering of a Matchday Centre and Matchday Live followed by a match report, written and video reaction and highlights from the US.
Morocco World
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Morocco World
Francophone Gala: What to Expect on Day 2 of Comediablanca
Casablanca- Tonight, the heart of Casablanca is pulsing with laughter and linguistic diversity as the Francophone GALA is taking over the Complexe Mohammed V for the highly anticipated Comediablanca 2025. Starting at 8 p.m., this VIP event is bringing together some of the brightest Francophone talents in comedy for a night of cultural celebration and comedic brilliance. Taking the stage are artists like Roman Frayssinet, Meryem Benoua as a host, Mimo Lazrak, Erick Baert, and many more. Organized under the banner of TENDANSIA, Comediablanca has quickly become a staple in Morocco's entertainment calendar, championing French-language performance and pan-African creative expression. The gala features a curated lineup of top-tier comedians, delivering sharp wit and vibrant storytelling to a diverse audience. Launched in 2024, Comediablanca was built on the idea that Morocco's multilingual reality deserves a multilingual stage. By offering both Arabophone and Francophone galas, the festival reflects the linguistic diversity of Moroccan society, giving equal space to local and international voices. This year's schedule was adjusted to avoid overlap with tomorrow's Wydad AC match against Porta, ensuring smooth crowd management and full focus on the performances. Beyond entertainment, tonight's gala also offers a deeper kind of release. Studies show that laughter lowers stress, boosts immune response, increases social bonding, and enhances mood – making festivals like Comediablanca more than cultural events. They are public moments of joy, solidarity, and emotional renewal. As the Francophone performers step into the spotlight, Casablanca is once again reminded that in uncertain times, laughter remains a powerful tool for unity and resilience. This year's edition emphasizes both inclusivity and exclusivity, with VIP invitations distributed to key partners and cultural influencers. Organizers reminded guests that tickets must be validated through the Guichet app, as third-party resales are not secure or valid for entry. Whether you're here for the punchlines, the people, or the prestige, Comediablanca 2025 promises a night to remember, where laughter becomes a language of unity. Tags: comediablancaComedy festival in Casblanca
