- Sunday 07/02/2021 at 21h06 – Updated at 21h12
-
|
Sports
–
By La Provence (with AFP)
–
The Mexican club Nuevo Leon Tigers, champion of the Concacaf zone, qualified Sunday for the final of the Club World Cup by beating the Brazilians of Palmeiras 1-0, in the semi-final in Doha thanks to a goal from André -Pierre Gignac.
The French, already scoring a double in the quarterfinals against the South Koreans of Ulsan Hyundai (2-1), scored in the first period the only goal of the game on penalty (1-0, 53rd), which eliminates the winner of the Copa Libertadores from the tournament.
The Tigers will meet on Thursday (18:00 GMT) in the final the winner of the other semi-final between Monday (18:00 GMT) Bayern Munich, European champion, against Egyptian club Al-Ahly, African champion.
Gignac and his team-mates amply deserved their victory. Faced with unimaginative Brazilians in attack, the Mexicans created the best chances of the match. In the first period, the former “blue” could have scored twice, on a shot wound in a narrow angle (34th), then on a header from the penalty spot, which forced the goalkeeper Palmeiras Weverton to a spectacular parade.
The last few minutes of the South American champions’ last stand, with some energetic actions but in the end muddled, was too late to be effective.
The Tigers become the first Mexican club, and also the first in North and Central America, to reach the final of this World Cup, of which all the winners since 2013 have been European.
The match was played in front of a sparse and very discreet audience, the organizers having decided to fill the stadium to only 30%. All fans had to present a negative coronavirus test, respect barrier gestures and wear a mask.
–
