Al-Ittihad’s summer signing Karim Benzema immediately made history in the opening match of this year’s Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia. The Frenchman became the first man to score in four finals.
Al-Ittihad, flying the host country’s flag as reigning Saudi Premier League champions, opened the tournament with a 3-0 victory over Oceania’s Auckland City. The fate of the match was decided in just over ten minutes: Romarinho opened the scoring in the 29th minute, N’Golo Kante scored five minutes later and Benzema scored in the 40th minute.
Al-Ittihad’s next opponent is Al Ahly, the Egyptian club representing Africa. The winner of this pair will face the winner of the Copa Libertadores, the South American champion Fluminene, in the semi-final. Manchester City, Champions League winners representing Europe, will also participate in the tournament from the semi-finals. Their opponents will be the Mexican club Leon or the Japanese Urawa Red Diamonds on December 19th.
Benzema, 35, is competing in his sixth Club World Cup. In the previous five he wore the Real Madrid shirt and always won: in 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2022.
A solid performance in front of a sensational audience. 🤩@Ittihad they advanced to the next round of #ClubWC! 👏 — FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 12, 2023
2023-12-12 22:42:14
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