Kane scores twice to push Bayern Munich past Flamengo and into Club World Cup quarters
Bayern Munich expected it to feel like another road game in Miami.
Much like its recent game against Boca Juniors at Hard Rock Stadium, supporters of Brazilian powerhouse Flamengo made up the very loud majority of the 60,914 spectators who attended Sunday's FIFA Club World Cup Round of 16 matchup.
But often the great difference maker in soccer is a world-class striker.
And on this day, Bayern Munich had one in English superstar Harry Kane, who scored two goals at key moments to help the German stalwarts advance to the Club World Cup quarterfinals following a 4-2 victory.
'Knockout football is all about moments and I felt we took our moments really well and at the right times,' Kane said.
Bayern Munich, the reigning Bundesliga champions, bounced back from what many considered a subpar finish to the group stage after a 1-0 loss to Benfica sent the German club into the round of 16 as a group runner-up.
After a clutch performance Sunday, Munich moved within three victories of the tournament title and secured a date with UEFA Champions League winners, Paris St.-Germain in the quarterfinals on Saturday at noon in Atlanta.
PSG advanced on Sunday after eliminating Lionel Messi and Inter Miami 4-0 in its own Round of 16 game in Atlanta.
'They're European champions and we played them once this year and we came out on top, but it was a difficult game,' Kane said. 'We know the qualities they have and we're going to have to be ready for that. We feel like when we're at the top of our game we can defeat anyone and we're going to go into this game with no different feeling. We respect them, but ultimately we're here to win the Club World Cup and we look forward to that challenge.'
With the Flamengo fans, mostly clad in their red shirts and jerseys with black stripes, cheering and singing to open the game, Bayern Munich quickly hushed them with two goals in the first nine minutes of the match to seize control.
Flamengo delivered a memorable performance in its 3-1 win over Chelsea during group play, which clinched its advancement to the Round of 16.
To its credit, it did not allow the rough start to squash their spirits.
Twice, Flamengo cut the deficit to one goal.
But Bayern Munich twice was resilient and provided responses of its own to ensure victory.
Kane's second goal and Munich's fourth of the game in the 73rd minute effectively sealed the outcome.
Konrad Laimer stole a ball in the attacking third and dropped it off to Joshua Kimmich, who then sent the ball into the box to Kane, who struck quickly with his right foot and past Flamengo goalkeeper Agustin Rossi.
'We faced a colossus, a really great team, and they were superior today,' Flamengo coach Filipe Luis said.
Bayern Munich's first goal came on a mistake by Flamengo's defense when Erick Pulgar accidentally headed a corner kick by Joshua Kimmich into his own goal in the sixth minute.
Three minutes later, Kane struck from just outside the top of the box with a great shot that hit the near post and ricocheted past Rossi.
But Luis' squad showed its own resilience.
Flamengo midfielder Gerson collected a ball that was crossed into the box from the sideline and bounced off Giorgian De Arrascaeta's foot. He then delivered a powerful rising shot, which sailed over the reach of Munich keeper Manuel Neuer to cut the deficit to 2-1 in the 33rd minute.
Bayern Munich's Leon Goretzka intercepted a clearance attempt from about 10 yards in front of the box and caught Flamengo's defense off balance, firing a perfect shot from distance into the open side of the goal to stretch the lead to 3-1 in the 41st minute.
In what was often a physical match, tempers flared on a hard foul on Kane and Pulgar was given a yellow card. Pulgar would exit the game with an injury in the 45th minute.
Flamengo had new life after a handball by Michael Olise inside the box resulted in a Flamengo penalty kick in the 53rd minute.
Jorginho converted the PK to cut Bayern's lead to 3-2.
But Kane's precision after a costly Flamengo giveaway would deny Flamengo the chance to survive and advance.
'It was a tough game for sure. Every ball was contested, every ball was challenged and you have to be ready to fight in different ways to help the team win,' Kane said. 'They had some really dangerous players and some fast players…Leon's goal before the half and mine to make it 4-2 really eased the last 10 minutes for us.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Pep Guardiola's Manchester City: The first steps of a rejuvenation
This version of Pep Guardiola has no room for worry. His face growing ever more bronzed from the Boca Raton sun, the Manchester City manager is living by a mantra of freedom and relaxation. Wish to go to Miami after training? Crack on. Barbecue out back with the wives and kids? Fill your boots. Golf, beach, swimming; however City's players want to find joy, Guardiola's laissez-faire approach to their time in the U.S. is keen to accommodate. Advertisement It has been noticeable just how refreshed Guardiola seems, despite having virtually no break between the end of the most turbulent season of his managerial career and this Club World Cup starting. Eulogising over South American fan culture, delivering an impromptu birthday message to Michel Platini, fawning over Matheus Nunes' conversion to right-back so passionately he may as well have been talking about Cafu. Not even concerns that this Club World Cup could jeopardise their Premier League season? 'I try not to think about it, otherwise I would be so anxious,' he said. 'People do their work best when they enjoy.' Guardiola's demeanour is a far cry from winter, at the peak of his team's four-month crisis, when he seemed to wear each and every error across his brow. He looked like a defeated man. Stressed, dejected and, for perhaps the first time in his career, unsure whether he had the answers. It seemed like his decision to sign a new two-year contract in November may have been a misjudgment, that his ability to keep refreshing and motivating had finally succumbed to human vulnerability. Yet, here he rocked up in the U.S., a man completely rejuvenated. Then, on Thursday his team transformed, too, hammering Juventus 5-2 with a performance so confident and slick, it was as if that crisis never happened. For 17 years as a manager, Guardiola has continually posed new questions of the sport but after unparalleled dominance in the Premier League and the toughest period of his career, finding the energy and inspiration to conjure up a new vision of what his City team, perhaps in his final act as manager, must surely have been more testing. 'When you win something, it is over and you start again. When you lose, it is the same,' he said. 'We made a good level (at the end) and qualified for the Champions League. The club brings in three new players, everything is new, so let's go. Advertisement 'I try to understand the players a bit better, improve yourself. Don't think too much about tomorrow and the future, and we will see. 'The main target is to not tell the players but (for them) to visualise the way we play in training sessions. They feel this is what we want and the path where we can be competitive.' Two years ago, Guardiola claimed that the reinvention of this City team was not always part of a grandmaster desire to push the boundaries. 'It's because otherwise, I get bored,' he said. 'Always doing the same thing for eight years would be very boring. That's the first thing. And secondly, when you do something and it goes well, they watch you and create an antidote. If you go too inside, they close in. If we open up the field too much, they'll open it up more. 'Anything we do and they respond to us. We have to respond again. The third reason is the players we have; what specific qualities they have and when they adapt best to the way you want to play.' Guardiola recognises that the Premier League is becoming increasingly athletic, with more and more teams adopting man-to-man pressing. He is adapting his team accordingly and that was evidenced against Juventus on Thursday. The main themes were forward runs, direct passes into the striker and an in-possession formation that shapeshifts so often, it feels pointless to lay out a starting XI in any specific order. Guardiola has always traditionally asked for his two wingers to provide the width for the team but that started to change at times last season, with the full-backs hugging the touchline. It looks like there is going to be constant variation of that on both sides, with Rayan Ait-Nouri at left-back. The Algerian inverted into midfield in the third minute of the game, with Jeremy Doku holding width on the left and right-back Matheus Nunes high and wide on the opposite flank, with Savinho tucked inside. A few minutes later, City were in a variation of a 2-3-5 build-up, with Ait-Nouri the furthest forward player and Doku and Savinho playing as two No 10s behind Omar Marmoush, as was their starting position for most of the first half. Within these changes of shape, one overarching principle that was back with a vengeance was the presence of runners in behind the Juventus defence. Last season, there was not enough of it — perhaps partly due to City's defensive struggles in transition making them wary of overcommitting too many men, but it made them easier to contain. There were constant attempts to stretch the Juventus back line, whether it was isolating Marmoush to run into the channel when Ederson has the ball, or Savinho going beyond Marmoush… …or Tijjani Rejnders and Bernardo Silva breaking from midfield. Rejnders excelled against Juventus and this was a key part of his game, with City's second goal coming from a late third-man run that saw Matheus Nunes's cross lead to a Pierre Kalulu goal. The Dutch international has added running power to a midfield that was lacking legs but often, City will come up against a low block, which is a challenge he is confident these runs and dribbles can overcome. 'The spaces are very small, so you have to be very secure in those situations and patient,' said Reijnders. Advertisement 'With the qualities we have with the wingers and the midfielders, we can always outplay a player. Those are things we have to use if we are playing teams who drop like this.' City consistently played directly into Marmoush's feet when under pressure with the running of Reijnders right across the midfield proving key to breaking the man-to-man press as he was able to escape his marker and offer an option to create a transition opportunity. Rodri, who made his first start in nine months, says he believes City are 'showing that this team has another face' after making changes to improve on what went wrong last season. 'We are trying to find out the best way this team works, trying to fix the new signings and find what is the best way of playing,' said the Spanish midfielder. 'In two weeks, you cannot guess anything. We are testing and I think this tournament is an incredible opportunity to compete, but also show what we are going to show next season.' (Patricia de Melo Moreira/AFP via Getty Images)
an hour ago
French soccer union blasts Club World Cup over 'massacre' of player welfare
PARIS -- France's union of professional soccer players launched a scathing attack on the Club World Cup on Sunday, saying it is 'urgent to stop this massacre' amid ongoing concerns about extreme player workloads. The UNFP also accused FIFA president Gianni Infantino of living 'in an ivory tower' by ignoring the impact congested calendars have on players worldwide. 'The incongruity of the situation is not lost on anyone, except, of course, Gianni Infantino and his flatterers. From the height of his ivory tower, which he parades around the world, the FIFA president is not bothered by the fate that the international calendar reserves for the game's leading players,' the UNFP said in a statement early Sunday morning. 'His (Infantino's) Club World Cup proves, to the point of absurdity, that it is urgent to stop this massacre game. He flouts the physical and mental health of players for a few more dollars." The UNFP statement said the Club World Cup comes at the end of an already exhausting season, and thereby ignores 'collective bargaining agreements (which) almost everywhere, provide for an incompressible period of three weeks of rest for footballers between two seasons.' FIFA was approached for comment by The Associated Press. Days before the start of the month-long Club World Cup, which ends on July 13, soccer chiefs faced renewed calls to safeguard players over growing fears of injuries and burnout. The newly expanded tournament involving 32 of the world's best teams has faced pushback since FIFA announced it would be added to an already saturated calendar. The tournament will be played every four years, sandwiched in between the men's World Cup, European Championship and Copa America. It went ahead against the backdrop of legal challenges in Europe, strike threats and repeated concerns over players' mental and physical welfare due to too many games. 'The UNFP, like FIFPRO and FIFPRO Europe, has been protesting for years against the drastic increase in workloads,' The UNFP added. 'But also against the harmful repercussions for domestic football of a calendar that FIFA is still alone in building today.' Last September, Manchester City midfielder Rodri suffered a severe knee injury soon after saying players were close to going on strike over excessive workloads. Champions League winner Paris Saint-Germain is one of the biggest sides involved in the Club World Cup. After winning the Champions League on May 31, key PSG players like Ousmane Dembélé and Désiré Doué played for France and then went to the United States soon after for the Club World Cup. Some French clubs have already resumed training for the upcoming Ligue 1 season, which begins mid-August, while others start next week. PSG was not able to push back its start to the Ligue 1 season. 'We don't see how or why the Parisians should not benefit from the three weeks of complete rest they are entitled to,' the UNFP said, adding that the toll of extra games for PSG's players could impact the national team in early September. "A delay in preparation that must also worry (France coach) Didier Deschamps ahead of two qualifying matches for the 2026 World Cup," the UNFP said, before concluding. 'What do you say, Mr. Infantino?' FIFA hopes the event will be to club soccer what the World Cup is to international soccer and establish itself as one of the biggest and wealthiest tournaments in sport. The old version of the Club World Cup, which was played yearly, was dominated by European teams in recent times. Only Brazilian team Corinthians broke Europe's winning run in 17 years.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
😭 Pogba in tears, Messi's 'granny' moment, CL highlights you missed ⏰
Over the weekend, between the market and the quarterfinals of the Club World Cup, there were several special moments. Let's take a look at those you might have missed but that definitely deserve to be remembered. 😭 Pogba's tears at the signing At the time of his signing with Monaco, Paul Pogba burst into tears. An intense moment for the French midfielder who will return to the field after a doping ban that kept him away from the fields for 2 years. 🥹 Angel Di Maria's tears More tears, but for different reasons: Angel Di Maria played his last game of his career with Benfica and in Europe. His penalty at 95' against Chelsea had raised hopes for a stunning comeback, which then vanished in extra time. Now he's waiting for his return home: to Rosario Central. 🧙 Estêvão's sombrero Estêvão's talent has also been noticed in this Club World Cup, and it's clear why Chelsea invested 60 million euros in him. In the round of 16 against Botafogo, he gave classy touches, particularly this sombrero. 🚴♂️ The exercise bikes in Benfica-Chelsea The interruption of Benfica-Chelsea due to bad weather lasted over two hours, and therefore the players had to stay warm. The solution was straightforward: bringing the exercise bikes from the sidelines and the gym into the locker rooms. 😍 Hernanes steals the penalty from Totti! Goal and capriole During a game of "Operazione Nostalgia", Prophet Hernanes stole the show from Francesco Totti: a penalty kick with his left foot (he's ambidextrous) and the ball near the post. The celebration hasn't changed despite the years: a capriole jump like a true gymnast. 😍 The "grandma" for Messi A special fan followed Messi during this Club World Cup and didn't want to miss the round of 16 with PSG. The elderly lady was invited to the sidelines due to her sign: "I love you Messi". 🧐 Messi, the doubt about the jersey Despite a performance below his standards, Messi was still the star of PSG-Inter Miami. Achraf Hakimi knows it well, as he rushed to ask for the N.10's jersey at the 90th minute, insisting on getting it immediately: a gift to have right away. In the locker room, however, Ousmane Dembelé posted a photo with all the clothes worn by Messi during the game. Did he borrow them from his teammates just for the photo or did he get other items from his former teammate? This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.
