Every quarter-final fixture and result
The quarter-finals of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup have been officially confirmed following the conclusion of the Last 16 matches.
All times SA
Fluminense vs Al-Hilal – 21:00
Palmeiras vs Chelsea – 03:00
PSG vs Bayern Munich – 18:00
Real Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund – 22:00
The eight quarter-finalists each pocketed a further $13.125 million for doing so and the four winners will take home another $21 million for reaching the semi-finals.
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The South African
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- The South African
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In a scathing column written by former British & Irish Lions coach Warren Gatland in The Telegraph this week, he openly – although without any real evidence – accuses Rassie Erasmus and the Springboks of spying on the Lions back in 2021. The Springboks secured a hard-fought 2-1 series win during that tour which was filled with controversies and challenges, and Gatland has now thrown another bombshell into the mix. Gatland suggested Erasmus was spotted with details of the team's tactics, and that he was told the Lions were being filmed from a house overlooking our training pitch. 'Our suspicions grew in the first Test, when Lukhanyo Am hit Elliot Daly with a massive man-and-ball tackle, reading a move that we had not used before during the tour matches,' Gatland wrote. 'Because there were no supporters in the stadium, we could hear what was being said in the Springboks' coaches box. We could hear the messages being relayed to their physio on the pitch about the moves that they thought we were doing. 'Rassie was also on the pitch acting as a 'water boy,' carrying a piece of paper. One of the photographers got a picture of him holding the page standing beside Faf de Klerk, their scrumhalf, and after the game, we enlarged the photo which showed that there were some of our moves and calls on it.' Taking to social media, Erasmus laughed off that example of the tackle by highlighting how it was a simple move with one skip pass that Am would have had no trouble reading without any inside knowledge. Rassie Erasmus also made two more sarcastic posts, jokingly suggesting that they could have also been subjected to 'spying' when they had to be evacuated from their hotel prior to a Test match in Wales due to a fire alarm. The former Lions coach went on to suggest that the famed touring team had been filmed and photographed from a covert location. 'The first Test experience seemed to confirm our fears. We just didn't know how they could have so much information on us. We started training indoors in a gym to negate the suspicion we had of being watched. But we still felt we were being filmed. 'Our concern was that they were using a long-range lens to video us from somewhere nearby. 'Later on, well after the tour had finished, I talked to someone who is well-connected in South Africa, who told me that a house that overlooked our training pitch had been rented for the duration of the series and that a long-lens camera had been placed in the top corner of the house to record us. 'It was so frustrating because you go on tour with plans to use different moves and options, but if the opposition knows what they are, they can plan to defend them. I am not sure in other sports like football it would have the same impact. I think there is a lot of it going on in the game at the minute.' Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 0211. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
The Citizen
an hour ago
- The Citizen
Five candidates who may take over from Jake White at Bulls
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IOL News
3 hours ago
- IOL News
Negri, Vintcent living the Italian dream but haven't forgotten their South African roots as they tackle the Springboks
I caught up with the pair at their Sandton hotel in Johannesburg between training sessions. The likeable pair are roommates, with the 31-year-old Negri — a veteran of 65 Tests — taking 23-year-old Vintcent under his wing. Negri qualified for Italy through his Italian father, and Vintcent has an Italian grandfather. Flanker Sebastian Negri and No 8 Ross Vintcent were schooled at Hilton College in the KZN midlands and Bishops in Cape Town, respectively, and while they could not be prouder to be wearing the blue of the Azzurri, they can't deny their Mzansi roots. Tonight, two members of the Italian team will be forgiven if they have a tear in their eye during the South African national anthem before kick-off against the Springboks at Loftus Versfeld. 'It will be a bit strange hearing the SA anthem because I grew up watching the Boks every Saturday," the baby-faced Vinctent said. 'Wherever I was in the world, I'd watch the Springboks and I would be singing the anthem. 'It will be a bit of a weird feeling,' Vintcent continued. 'I am trying not to think about it too much and am focusing on the rugby, but it will be quite an emotional game for me.' Negri added.'I grew up a massive Bok supporter and still am. Our job is to play for Italy, and I take huge pride in that privilege, but when Italy is not playing, I am a full-on Bok supporter. 'I will have a few goose bumps listening to the SA anthem because that is what we grew up listening to,' Negri added. 'I also owe a great deal to South Africa. That makes it sentimental for me.' Vintcent is originally from Joburg and moved to the Cape when he was in grade 10, where he encountered future Springbok flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu. 'Everyone knew Sacha would become a Bok,' he said. 'When I arrived at Bishops, he was the biggest thing at our school. He had the confidence of a future Springbok, but he wasn't arrogant. He did some amazing things at schoolboy level, stuff that was too good for the opposition.' Negri was born in Zimbabwe, and his family suffered the trauma of the government's brutal land reforms. 'It was hectic. I was still quite young. Dad came into the house one day and said, 'Pack a small bag.' We left home and never saw it again. We lost three farms in the space of a day or two,' Negri explained. 'In our time of crisis, our Italian family in Harare helped us massively. That is what makes it special every time I put on an Italy jersey. I know that I am not only representing myself and my close family, but the extended family that was there for us when we needed help. That makes it extra special for me. 'The big thing for my parents was to get us into the best schools, and South Africa was a good option,' Negri said. 'I went to Clifton Prep in Nottingham Road. That is where my passion for rugby got going. I got a sports scholarship to Hilton, and the rugby grew and grew. 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I said, 'Sure, I will give it a go.' 'We played Paarl Gim and narrowly lost. I loved it in the back row and it stuck.' Vintcent studied for a degree in economics at Exeter University. Not long ago, he was delivering pizzas to augment his income. He learned the Italian national anthem by Google Translate, but is now close to fluent in Italian. Negri has been in the Italy set-up since 2016. He was at Hartpury University in England at the time. He played against the Springboks in a fierce pool game at the 2019 World Cup. 'That was very physical!' Negri said. 'I played them recently in Genoa, too. Physically, the Boks are the toughest team in world rugby.' The Italians have had their challenges in the Six Nations but over the last two seasons are on the up under coach Gonzalo Quesada, the former Argentina flyhalf. 'I have been in the system for a long time. I see a bright future for the Italian national team. There is a core of young guys playing very good rugby. They will take the team forward,' Negri said. 'This tour to South Africa is about exposing younger guys to what it is like playing against the best. These Tests are like World Cup games — you are playing the best in the world. These two Tests in Pretoria and Gqeberha are about giving everything we can, and whatever happens, happens. It will be a great experience for everyone. Vintcent adds, 'I love playing as the underdogs. I prefer it when there is no expectation. You have nothing to lose and can express yourself. That makes us dangerous.'
