Latest news with #Ribeiro
IOL News
6 hours ago
- Sport
- IOL News
Lucas Ribeiro's solo stunner named Club World Cup goal of the tournament
Wonder strike Lucas Ribeiro's wonder goal against Borussia Dortmund has been voted as the best goal at the recently completed FIFA Club World Cup in the United States. Photo:/AFP Lucas Ribeiro's solo goal in Mamelodi Sundowns' Club World Cup game against German giants Borussia Dortmund has been named the best goal of the tournament. In Sundowns' 4-3 loss to the Germans, Ribeiro picked up the ball in his own half, slalomed his way past a number of defenders, and scored past Swiss goalkeeper Gregor Kobel to give the South Africans a shock early lead. Sundowns' performance, despite the loss, was hailed around the world, with Ribeiro coming in for special praise for his impressive strike. The goal was one of ten shortlisted by FIFA after the tournament, and the decision to name it the tournament's best was taken after a vote by fans.
The Citizen
8 hours ago
- Sport
- The Citizen
Sundowns' Ribeiro wins Club World Cup goal of the tournament
It was an amazing individual effort that has lived long in the minds of FIFA Club World Cup 2025 fans. Lucas Ribeiro #10 of Mamelodi Sundowns FC scores his team's first goal during the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 group F match against Borussia Dortmund at TQL Stadium on June 21 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Photo: Dylan Buell / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP Lucas Ribeiro Costa's goal against Borussia Dortmund has been voted the Goal of the Tournament of the FIFA Club World Cup, beating the likes of Lionel Messi, Jamal Musiala, Joao Pedro. Ribeiro picked the ball up inside his own half and went on an incredible 67-yard run past two Borussia Dortmund defenders before slotting home past and outstretched Gregor Kobel. ALSO READ: Cardoso grateful to Sundowns and staff after PSL nomination The Brazilian opened the scoring for Sundowns in a thrilling seven-goal group stage encounter. However, Dortmund ultimately prevailed with a 4-3 victory in one of the tournament's most thrilling matches. It was an amazing individual effort that has lived long in the minds of FIFA Club World Cup 2025 fans. 'I am always confident. I'm very happy to have scored the goal,' said Ribeiro. 'The moment I turned with the ball, I said, 'OK, let me go, let me put the ball in the space.' I'm happy with the goal, but the most important thing is that the team played well.' ALSO READ: Nkota: Ettifaq move is a 'dream come true' 'I have good speed. But not normally over a long distance. This was the difference for me scoring this goal,' added Ribeiro. The Sundowns star's long-range run beat out the likes of Kenan Yildiz outside the box screamer against Wydad AC, Lionel Messi's free-kick finish against FC Porto and Joao Pedro's stunner against Fluminense FC.
The South African
9 hours ago
- Sport
- The South African
Lucas Ribeiro 67‑yard solo stunner beats Lionel Messi
Lucas Ribeiro while at Mamelodi Sundowns Image via @MamelodiSundowns on X Lucas Ribeiro powered Mamelodi Sundowns to global prominence in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, eclipsing megastars Lionel Messi and Jamal Musiala with a jaw‑dropping individual display. The Brazilian creator dazzled in the United States, registering an assist against Ulsan HD before etching his name into tournament folklore. 67‑yard dash that left Dortmund reeling When the group‑stage clash with Borussia Dortmund ignited, Ribeiro seized the spotlight. He collected the ball deep inside his own half, drove forward for an astonishing 67 yards, weaved past two yellow‑and‑black shirts and coolly tucked the finish beyond an outstretched Gregor Kobel. The goal opened a seven‑goal thriller that Dortmund eventually edged 4‑3, yet Ribeiro's wonder strike stole every headline. 40,000 votes crown the Goal of the Tournament Supporters flooded social media for a week‑long poll and delivered a landslide verdict. More than 40,000 devotees voted Ribeiro's solo masterpiece the undisputed Goal of the Tournament, handing the Sundowns talisman the competition's top honour. ADVERTISEMENT 'I am always confident. I'm very happy to have scored the goal,' said Ribeiro. 'The moment I turned with the ball, I said, 'OK, let me go, let me put the ball in the space.' I'm happy with the goal, but the most important thing is that the team played well.' 'I have good speed,' he added, 'But not normally over a long distance. This was the difference for me scoring this goal.' PSL awards beckon after a season with Sundowns Ribeiro's exploits extend beyond the global stage. Following a sensational 2024/25 domestic campaign for Mamelodi Sundowns, he has earned three PSL Award nominations: PSL Footballer of the Season Betway Premiership Players' Player of the Season ADVERTISEMENT Betway Premiership Goal of the Season The awards ceremony lights up Tuesday, 29 July. And few doubt that Lucas Ribeiro, fresh from conquering the world, will stride in as the hot favourite. Was Lucas Ribeiro's goal better than Lionel Messi? Let us know by leaving a comment below or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X, and Bluesky for the latest news.
TimesLIVE
3 days ago
- Sport
- TimesLIVE
Rayners should have been nominated for Footballer of the Season
End of season awards are by their nature highly divisive and the announcement of the nominees for last season's best performers to compete for the top prizes in the PSL Awards was not going to avoid the storm. After the long wait, the Premier Soccer League (PSL) released their list of nominees on Tuesday and, as per script, the list has been met with strong and contrasting opinions from all quarters. The list is long but sharp focus is on the main categories of the Footballer and Betway Premiership Players' Player of the Season awards, where Mamelodi Sundowns striker Iqraam Rayners is conspicuous by his absence. There are those who agree with the coaches and players who voted for not including Rayners in those categories but there are those, like me, who strongly argue he should have been shortlisted. Footballer of the Season is judged by Betway Premiership coaches and the Players' Player of the Season, as the title suggests, by fellow professionals. It is surprising many did not seen Rayners as worthy of a nomination for the top awards, to be announced on July 29. #𝐏𝐒𝐋𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬𝟐𝟓: Here are the three players nominated for the PSL Footballer of the Season award. — Official PSL (@OfficialPSL) July 15, 2025 Coaches and players have intimate knowledge of the league they take part in but there is nothing stopping supporters from disagreeing with the surprising choices they have made. Some will ask what the point is of this argument because Rayners has been pipped by teammate Lucas Ribeiro, Relebohile Mofokeng of Orlando Pirates and Sekhukhune United attacker Keletso Makgalwa for both categories. Nothing is going to change the situation but this is a good point of discussion and it would be interesting to find out from those who did not vote for him, what motivated their decisions. From where I am sitting, it does not look like coaches and fellow players who voted for Ribeiro, Mofokeng and Makgalwa looked closely at Rayners' impressive goal contribution numbers. 📆 𝐒𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 The #𝐏𝐒𝐋𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬𝟐𝟓 ceremony will take place on Tuesday, 29 July, live on the SuperSport PSL channel and SABC Sport. — Official PSL (@OfficialPSL) July 15, 2025 Rayners contributed 14 goals and nine assists in 26 matches for the Brazilians on their way to their eighth successive Premiership title, which is significantly better than Mofokeng (five goals and eight assists in 26 games) and Makgalwa (four goals and 11 assists in 26 matches). Those who don't want to go with numbers, there is a strong footballing argument for Rayners that he was largely the front-line Sundowns attacker ahead of Peter Shalulile, Arthur Sales, Ribeiro (who usually played deeper) and Tashreeq Matthews. As part of coach Miguel Cardoso's attacking plan, he was sometimes used as a forward decoy and this allowed Ribeiro, Sales and Matthews to threaten opposition defenders. The Footballer of the Season award, too, is decided across all the PSL's competitions, while the Player's Player award is for the Premiership. So Rayners not making the cut in the former is even more strange. Rayners was instrumental in helping Downs reach the Carling Knockout final, where they lost 2-1 to Magesi FC in Bloemfontein, with a solid contribution of four goals in as many matches. Rayners — who also had Champions League and Bafana Bafana commitments, which is only relevant for this discussion in considering how it added to his workload — contributed 18 goals and nine assists after 33 matches in all PSL competitions. That is notably is more than both Mofokeng and Makgalwa, which seems the major factor in Rayner's ommission being so widely discussed. In my view, Ribeiro must be named the Footballer of the Season. He established himself as a significant cog in the Sundowns attack and his contribution of 17 goals and 12 assists from 34 matches in all competitions, often from a deeper role, sets him apart as the best player in the country last campaign. There is a strong case for exciting Mofokeng because he scored crucial goals for Pirates, sometimes in the high-profile matches, though he did lack consistency in front of goal. For someone who plays in an advancing attacking role as a winger, No 10 or striker, Mofokeng's return of only seven goals and 12 assists in 36 league and cup games is hardly world class. To be frank, Makgalwa's statistical return in cup competitions was poor and he did not set the league alight with four goals and 11 assists in 26 appearances for a team that did not even finish in the top three. His case could have been enhanced if he helped Sekhukhune to a top three finish but they were pipped to the Confederation Cup by Stellenbosch FC and also did not make it to a cup final. If you look closely at Rayners' goal contributions last season, they are better than Makgalwa and Mofokeng and it is disappointing that for some strange reason, some of the coaches and players were not impressed by his contribution. In my view, he was the second-best player in the league after Ribeiro because of the influence he had for coach Cardoso and the dominant Sundowns who won the league convincingly. He played a role in many of Ribeiro's goals, and vice versa. I have the respect for coaches and players, but I don't agree with them because Rayners was consistent and scored important goals for Sundowns and he deserved at least a nomination for his troubles.
The Citizen
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Citizen
OPINION: Why was Rayners snubbed for top PSL Awards?
Has Rayners' impact this season been undervalued? His numbers speak volumes. Ronwen Williams and Iqraam Rayners of Mamelodi Sundowns celebrates with the trophy after a Betway Premiership 2024/25 match against Magesi FC at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria on 18 May 2025 ©Alche Greeff/BackpagePix I've made it clear before who I believe should be named the 2024–25 PSL Footballer of the Season. For me, it was always going to be a tight race between Mamelodi Sundowns duo Lucas Ribeiro and Iqraam Rayners. Rayners' omission is startling That's why I was genuinely taken aback when Rayners' name was missing from both the Footballer of the Season and Players' Player of the Season shortlists. ALSO READ: Pirates' Mofokeng gets five nominations for PSL Awards These two awards are decided by head coaches and fellow professionals in the Betway Premiership who are not permitted to vote for players from their own clubs. I'm not here to take anything away from the three players who were nominated. I want to congratulate Ribeiro, Orlando Pirates star Relebohile Mofokeng, and the rejuvenated Keletso Makgalwa of Sekhukhune United. But the omission of Rayners is a big talking point. When the nominees were revealed on Tuesday, it reignited a conversation that many had already been having. Has Rayners' impact this season been undervalued? His numbers speak volumes. 14 league goals in a 28-game campaign is an exceptional return. Add to that four goals in the Carling Knockout Cup, including a brace against Kaizer Chiefs, and nine league assists, and you're looking at a total of 27 direct goal contributions across domestic competitions. That kind of output should, at the very least, earn a nomination. Rayners finished just two goals behind Ribeiro in the Golden Boot race. So how is it possible that he was completely overlooked? Unless other players had significantly better stats, which they didn't, it's difficult to justify his exclusion. No strong case I'm reluctant to scrutinise the stats of the players who were nominated ahead of him. It wouldn't be fair as they didn't vote for themselves. However, from a purely footballing perspective, there's no strong case for Rayners being left out. ALSO READ: Williams questions Nkota's Pirates to Saudi switch Credit must go to the selected trio, and I wish them all the best ahead of the awards ceremony on July 29. And it would be nothing short of a scandal if Ribeiro doesn't walk away with the Footballer of the Season award.
