Manchester City to face Urawa at Club World Cup after Asian champion beats Mexico’s León
JEDDAH: Manchester City will play Urawa Red Diamonds in the Club World Cup semifinals after the Asian champion beat León of Mexico 1-0 on Friday. Saudi Arabian champion Al-Ittihad, captained by Karim Benzema, played Al Ahly, the Egyptian champion of Africa, later Friday in the other second-round game. The winner will face Fluminense of Brazil in the semifinals next week. Urawa’s win was sealed with a 78th-minute goal by Dutch forward Alex Schalk, who squeezed a low, angled shot past advancing León goalkeeper Rodolfo Cota. Schalk’s journey from his native Netherlands to Japan took him via the north of Scotland, where he spent three seasons at Ross County, and to Switzerland with Servette, where the first of his four years was in the second division. Urawa earned their place at the seven-team Club World Cup by winning the Asian Champions League in February, beating Saudi club Al-Hilal in the final.
