Sports

MELBOURNE — Rafael Nadal laughed off a gesticulating heckler as he brushed aside Michael Mmoh and continued his quest for history at the Australian Open on Thursday.

On a day when defending women's champion Sofia Kenin departed in tears, but top-ranked Ashleigh Barty progressed, Nadal was impeccable on Rod Laver Arena.

Stefanos Tsitsipas, Feliciano Lopez and Lloyd Harris were all taken to five sets, as was Fabio Fognini — in an all-Italian clash that ended in a furious row.

Teenager Coco Gauff, 16, who beat Naomi Osaka to reach the fourth round last year, saw her challenge ended by Elina Svitolina.

But Nadal, who has complained of a bad back as he seeks a record 21st Grand Slam title, swept past America's 177th-ranked Mmoh 6-1, 6-4, 6-2.

A female spectator interrupted the match late in the second set, shouting and giving Nadal the middle finger, before she was ejected — and the Spaniard immediately fired two aces for a 2-0 sets lead.

"No, and honestly I don't want to," said a smiling Nadal, when asked if he knew the heckler.

"For me it was funny, somebody doing the finger to me. I don't know the reason, but I was surprised. But at the same time I was thinking, poor girl. Because probably she was drunk or something."

Next up for the Spaniard, who is attempting to overtake the injury-sidelined Roger Federer and become the first man to win 21 major crowns, is Britain's Cameron Norrie.

Elsewhere Russia's Daniil Medvedev extended his winning streak to 16 matches on this 25th birthday, beating Roberto Carballes Baena 6-2, 7-5, 6-1.

But World No. 4 Sofia Kenin's first Grand Slam title defence went no further than the second round as she lost 6-3, 6-2 to Estonia's Kaia Kanepi.

"I know I couldn't really handle the pressure," said an emotional Kenin, wiping away tears.

'Fit as a fiddle'

While the American became just the third defending champion since 1970 to fail to reach the third round, Barty lifted hopes of a first Australian winner since 1978.

Playing with her left thigh heavily strapped, the top seed twice failed to serve out the win before ousting her 387th-ranked compatriot Daria Gavrilova 6-1, 7-6 (9/7).

Barty, who is unbeaten in seven matches after sitting out nearly all of last year, blamed the lapse on ring-rust.

"Obviously going to have ebbs and flows not only in concentration but level of play as well," said the Aussie, dismissing any injury concerns. "I'm as fit as a fiddle," she said.

Gauff beat Venus Williams and the then-champion Naomi Osaka en route to the round of 16 last year, when she was just 15, but Svitolina had other ideas this time around.

The Ukrainian World No. 5 lifted her game in the pivotal moments to win 6-4, 6-3 as she eyes a maiden Grand Slam title.

Tsitsipas was not expected to be troubled by 267th-ranked Kokkinakis but the Australian, roared on by his close friend Nick Kyrgios, saved a fourth-set match point before going down in five tight sets.

Spain's Lopez, 39, was also taken the distance in his record-extending 75th consecutive Grand Slam before beating Italy's Lorenzo Sonego 5-7, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4.

But the most combustible match was between Fognini and Salvatore Caruso, as the two Italians had to be separated by a tournament official during a heated argument after the 16th seed's four-hour, 4-6, 6-2, 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (14/12) win.

Earlier Russian rising star Andrey Rublev maintained his unbeaten start to the year with a 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (10/8) victory over Brazil's Thiago Monteiro.

Sixth seed Karolina Pliskova ousted 2019 semi-finalist Danielle Collins, and Swiss 12th seed Belinda Bencic overcame veteran Russian Svetlana Kutznetsova 7-5, 2-6, 6-4.

But 17-year-old Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, tipped as a future great, lost against Mikael Ymer to end his debut Grand Slam.

TURIN, Italy — Juventus are in the final of the Italian Cup after a goalless draw with rivals Inter Milan on Tuesday put them through 2-1 on aggregate.

Andrea Pirlo’s side will face one of Napoli or Atalanta, who are locked at 0-0 ahead of Wednesday’s second leg in Bergamo, in May’s final in Rome after comfortably holding Inter in a disciplined display at the Allianz Stadium.

Inter barely troubled veteran Juve goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon despite the return of Romelu Lukaku and Achraf Hakimi, while Cristiano Ronaldo was twice denied by fine Samir Handanovic saves at the other end.

Juve are unbeaten since losing 2-0 to Inter in Serie A last month as novice coach Pirlo drags his team into contention in league and cup after an uncertain start coaching the Italian champions.

They have conceded just once since that defeat, in the first leg win at the San Siro last week, and look in ominous form as they return to the title chase at the weekend.

Juve sit seven points behind leaders AC Milan with a game in hand and a trip to troubled Napoli awaiting them on Saturday.

“It’s a completely different feeling as a coach, we’re really happy but we haven’t done anything yet,” said Pirlo to state broadcaster Rai.

“We were really good today, they basically didn’t have a shot on goal. Handanovic was the best player on the pitch,” added the 41-year-old, who won four league titles as a Juve player.

Antonio Conte, who led Pirlo to three of those Serie A crowns, will now have to concentrate entirely on overhauling Milan if he wants to win Inter their first trophy since 2011.

Second-placed Inter are two points behind their city rivals ahead of their league clash with in-form Lazio on Sunday, while Milan travel to lowly Spezia.

Inter held at bay

Inter came into the match with a dismal recent record at Juventus, without a win since November 2012 when Conte was still managing the then-resurgent ‘Old Lady’ of Italian football.

That win, 3-1 thanks to a brace from 2010 treble hero Diego Milito, ended a 49-match winning streak for Juve but no such heroics were on display on Tuesday night.

The return of Lukaku and Hakimi, who both missed the first leg through suspension, did nothing to improve Inter’s fortunes in a blunt display from the away side, who had plenty of the ball but did very little with it.

A first half of few chances featured a Juve team much-changed from the XI which beat Roma 2-0 at the weekend but equally comfortable holding their opponents at bay.

Juve were content to sit on their first-leg lead, knowing that even a 1-0 defeat would have been enough for them to go through.

Ronaldo came close to scoring first in the 64th minute when Weston McKennie pounced on sloppy play from Inter to put the Portugal captain through on goal.

However Handanovic was quick off his line and pulled off a fine save to deny Ronaldo, who turned 36 last week.

Ronaldo was again denied by Handanovic five minutes later when he skipped past Milan Skriniar and Nicolo Barella and let rip with a powerful shot which the Slovene stopper did well to push away.

Inter continued to push but the wall put up in front of Buffon held and Pirlo will have a chance to win his first trophy as a coach in debut season on the bench.

MELBOURNE — Rafael Nadal’s injured back didn’t slow down his bid for a record 21st Grand Slam title on Tuesday, as women’s World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty romped to a 6-0, 6-0 “double bagel” at the Australian Open.

On a day when women’s champion Sofia Kenin also reached round two, but two-time winner Victoria Azarenka lost after breathing problems, Nadal and Barty were the headline acts at the coronavirus-delayed Slam.

Spanish great Nadal, who pulled out of last year’s ATP Cup with back problems, beat Serbia’s Laslo Djere 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 in one hour and 52 minutes on a sun-kissed Rod Laver Arena.

“It’s been a tough 15 days for me,” said the 2009 champion, whose back stiffness first flared during an exhibition match last month.

“I needed to survive today and that’s what I did. I’m happy to be through and I think I did a good job today. Straight sets is what I needed.”

Nadal, 34, is attempting to outstrip his old rival Roger Federer, who is out with injury, and take sole ownership of the all-time record for Grand Slam titles.

After World No. 1 Novak Djokovic eased through late on Monday, Russia’s Daniil Medvedev extended his winning streak to 15 matches with an emphatic 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 victory over Canada’s Vasek Pospisil.

The 2019 US Open finalist is raising hopes of a maiden Grand Slam title with his unbeaten run, which includes winning the Paris Masters, ATP Finals and last week’s ATP Cup with Russia.

Russian seventh seed Andrey Rublev also continued his winning start to the year with a straight-sets victory over German Yannick Hanfmann 6-3, 6-3, 6-4.

Barty started

Barty later outclassed Montenegro’s Danka Kovinic, losing only 10 points as she raced into round two in just 44 minutes.

With the win Barty, last year’s semifinalist who sat out most of the 2020 season, ramped up hopes of a first Australian women’s winner in 43 years.

“It felt great to be here,” she said. “I tried to stick to my process and routine but I just wanted to have fun.”

Women’s champion Kenin was less convincing and she audibly vented her frustrations during her 7-5, 6-4 against Australian Maddison Inglis, who is ranked outside the top 100.

Two-time major-winner Garbine Muguruza, who was stunned by Kenin in last year’s final, had little trouble beating Russia’s Margarita Gasparyan 6-4, 6-0.

But there were distressing scenes as an ailing Azarenka, the 2012 and 2013 champion, went out to Jessica Pegula.

Azarenka, who was one of the players locked down in hard quarantine pre-tournament and not allowed out of her room for 14 days, began to suffer in the second set.

The 2020 US Open runner-up, who only played one warm-up match last week, was seen gasping and using an inhaler, and then looked close to collapse on court. After a medical timeout she played on but lost 7-5, 6-4.

Elsewhere fifth seed Elina Svitolina of the Ukraine was pushed hard by Czech Marie Bouzkouva before coming through 6-3, 7-5 (7/5).

She will next play 16-year-old American Coco Gauff, who beat Venus Williams and Naomi Osaka last year and enjoyed a straightforward 6-3, 6-2 win over Switzerland’s Jil Teichmann on Tuesday.

America’s Tennys Sandgren and Spain’s Paula Badosa, who were also in hard quarantine, both went out but there was an impressive, straight-sets win for Spanish Grand Slam debutant Carlos Alcaraz, 17.

“He has all the ingredients to become a great champion,” Nadal said of Alcaraz, who swept past Botic Van de Zandschulp 6-1, 6-4, 6-4.

The year’s first Grand Slam has started three weeks late because of coronavirus problems, with players and officials required to quarantine for two weeks after arriving in Australia.

Crowds are limited, masks are mandatory and movement is curbed around Melbourne Park, where Monday’s attendance was 17,922, compared with 64,387 on day one in 2020.

MELBOURNE — Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka wasted little time in breezing into the second round as the Australian Open began on Monday, three weeks later than originally scheduled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Japan’s Osaka, the third seed, struck the first serve on Rod Laver Arena against Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the women’s singles and strode to the net to touch racquets with her opponent just 68 minutes later after a 6-1, 6-2 victory.

“I was really nervous coming into this match. I just wanted to play well,” Osaka told a smattering of spectators on the socially-distanced centre court. 

Williams started her quest for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title in style with a 6-1, 6-1 romp past Germany’s Laura Siegemund in 56 minutes.

“This was a good start, it was vintage Serena,” said the 39-year-old, playing an unparalleled 100th match at the tournament and turning heads in a vivid, one-legged catsuit. 

The 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu won an emotional first match back after 15 months out against Romania’s Mihaela Buzarnescu 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.

The 20-year-old Canadian last played at the WTA Finals in October 2019 at Shenzen, China, where she suffered the knee injury that scuppered her entire 2020 season.

French Open champion Iga Swiatek, 19, beat Arantxa Rus 6-1, 6-3 to reach the second round and continue her Grand Slam winning streak.

Men’s third seed and US Open champion Dominic Thiem was made to work hard in the first set by Kazakh veteran Mikhail Kukushkin before coming through 7-6 (7/2), 6-2, 6-3.

“He’s very experienced and the first set was super-challenging,” said Thiem, beaten by Novak Djokovic in five epic sets in the Australian Open final last year.

Sixth seed Alexander Zverev had a harder time, dropping a set and smashing a racquet before grinding to a 6-7 (8/10), 7-6 (7/5), 6-3, 6-2 win against American Marcos Giron.

“He played incredible,” said the German, who lost to Thiem in the final in New York and the Melbourne semifinals last year.

“He had me on the ropes, particularly in the second set tie-break.” 

The tournament is known as the “Happy Slam” for its convivial atmosphere but the pandemic has overshadowed the event this year with fewer spectators, mandatory mask-wearing and fans unable to circulate freely around the grounds.

Preparations had to be hastily rearranged as late as last Wednesday when a coronavirus case at a tournament hotel — the city’s first local infection in 28 days — forced a suspension of play. 

Hundreds of players and officials were tested and all were negative.

Angelique Kerber, the 2016 Australian Open winner, was the first significant casualty of the women’s championship when the 23rd-seeded German lost 6-0, 6-4 to 63rd-ranked American Bernarda Pera.

There were no such problems for the 2014 men’s champion, Stan Wawrinka, as he reached the second round for a 16th straight time with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 win against Portugal’s Paulo Sousa.

“It’s always amazing and special to come back here. Winning my first Grand Slam was something unbelievable, amazing memories,” said the 35-year-old Swiss 17th seed. 

Milos Raonic, the 14th seed from Canada, also enjoyed serene progress through to the second round with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 win over Federico Coria of Argentina.

But Gael Monfils, the French 10th seed, is out after being stunned 3-6, 6-4, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 by Emil Ruusuvuori of Finland, the World No. 86, in three hours and 46 minutes.

Men’s No. 1 Djokovic, looking for a record-extending ninth Melbourne Park crown, begins his quest in the late night match on Rod Laver Arena against France’s Jeremy Chardy.

Women’s World No. 2 Simona Halep, who has been battling a back injury, will open the evening session against Australian wild card Lizette Cabrera.

Top women’s seed Ashleigh Barty, defending champion Sofia Kenin and 20-time men’s singles Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal all begin their challenge on Tuesday.

MANCHESTER, United Kingdom — Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said his side should not be considered Premier League title contenders after twice blowing the lead to draw 3-3 at home to Everton on Saturday.

Victory would have pulled United level on points with leaders Manchester City, but they have now won just one of their last four games to allow their local rivals to open up a commanding advantage at the top of the table.

“We’re not talking about winning titles, this team has come a long way,” said Solskjaer, who side finished 33 points behind Liverpool last season.

“We shouldn’t be considered as title chasers. That’s one for you [the media]. We’ve got to get better as a team and see where we end up.

“Going forward we were very good, but we need to stop conceding easy goals.”

Everton’s late show extends their unbeaten run on the road to seven games and moves Carlo Ancelotti’s men back up to sixth, three points off the top four.

Ahead of the game, the Munich air disaster — in which seven United players were killed 63 years ago — was remembered with wreaths laid by both captains.

A slow start followed that sombre note, but the match burst into life after Edinson Cavani’s excellent movement created space for the Uruguayan to head home Marcus Rashford’s pinpoint cross at the far post on 24 minutes.

Ancelotti cut a frustrated figure on the touchline during the first-half as his side constantly played themselves into trouble rather than seeking out the pace of Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin on the counter-attack.

“We were a little bit shy in the first-half,” said Ancelotti.

“We had the opportunity in counter-attack in the first-half, but we were not clinical in passing forward.

“We didn’t deserve to lose. I think the draw was fair because the effort and spirit in the second-half was really good.”

The one time a long ball did find Richarlison he nearly caught out David de Gea with an audacious effort from a narrow angle.

United were dealt a blow six minutes before the break when Paul Pogba hobbled off with a thigh muscle injury to be replaced by Fred.

Pogba would have been a far better option on the edge of the box when the Brazilian dragged a shot wide moments later.

However, Bruno Fernandes is United’s star man from that range and showed why with a sumptuous lobbed effort over Robin Olsen for his 18th goal of the season.

At that stage, Solskjaer’s men looked in complete command, but they got a warning of what was about to come in first-half stoppage time when Calvert-Lewin slotted wide when one-on-one with De Gea.

The Spanish goalkeeper should have done much better four minutes after the break when he parried Calvert-Lewin’s effort into the path of Abdoulaye Doucoure, who halved the Toffees deficit with a simple finish.

Doucoure also played his part in the equaliser as he picked out James Rodriguez, who produced a classy finish on his trusted left foot to this time give De Gea no chance.

But United benefited from a goalkeeper error at the other end when Olsen, deputising for the injured Jordan Pickford, let Scott McTominay’s header from Luke Shaw’s free-kick slip through his grasp.

United should have put the game to bed as Rashford lashed wide after rounding Olsen.

And the hosts were punished for that profligacy when Calvert-Lewin pounced on a long hopeful free-kick into the box to slot home his 19th goal of the season for club and country.

LONDON — Manchester City and Liverpool have dominated the Premier League over the past four seasons, but a sizeable gap has opened up between the leaders and the champions ahead of their latest meeting on Sunday.

City are seven points clear of fourth-placed Liverpool, with a game in hand, and could kill off any hopes of a revival for Jurgen Klopp’s men with a first victory at Anfield for 18 years.

At the other end of the table, Sheffield United, West Brom and Fulham have been cut adrift and look destined for a return to the Championship.

But struggles for Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham and Arsenal have opened up the race for a Champions League place, with a host of other contenders aiming for a top-four finish.

Man City leave Liverpool trailing

Despite the vast sums invested and multiple trophies won since Shiekh Mansour’s takeover 13 years ago, Anfield has remained an unassailable fortress for the men in blue with City’s last victory there coming in 2003.

However, Liverpool’s invincibility at home has crumbled in recent weeks in front of empty stands.

After a club-record 68-game unbeaten run in the Premier League at Anfield, the Reds have suffered back-to-back 1-0 defeats to Burnley and Brighton.

Liverpool have not won any of their past four home games — and have not found the net there since late December.

Klopp admitted his side were suffering from mental and physical fatigue as an injury crisis in defence continues to have an impact on the rest of the team, with midfielders Fabinho and Jordan Henderson forced into deputising at centre-back.

Goalkeeper Alisson Becker, Fabinho and Sadio Mane all missed the Brighton defeat on Wednesday, but could return for the daunting task of halting City’s 13-game winning run in all competitions.

Despite the absence of Kevin De Bruyne, City have found the kind of form that enabled them to pip Liverpool to the title by a single point in the 2018/19 season.

Pep Guardiola’s men have conceded just one goal in winning their past nine league games to storm three points clear at the top with a game in hand over second-placed Manchester United.

“At the end the aim is to be champion,” said Guardiola, looking ahead after easing past Burnley on Wednesday. “It is the same [three] points, but against a contender.”

Champions League dreams

Liverpool remain fourth for now despite their faltering form but just nine points separate them from Arsenal in 10th spot.

Sixth-placed Everton are six points behind Leicester, in third spot, but have two games in hand.

West Ham can move above Liverpool when they visit Fulham, while Tottenham and Chelsea will be confident of bolstering their push for a top-four finish when they face struggling West Brom and Sheffield United respectively.

Arsenal desperately need to win at Aston Villa to keep their chances of a return to the Champions League next season alive.

Bottom three doomed?

A bad week for Fulham and West Brom combined with recent wins for Burnley, Brighton, Newcastle, Wolves and Crystal Palace has opened up an eight-point gap between the bottom three and survival.

“It leaves us with a great gap to fill,” said West Brom boss Sam Allardyce after taking just one point from games against Fulham and Sheffield United.

The Blades are the only side in the relegation zone showing signs of life, with three wins in their past five games, but Chris Wilder’s men have given themselves a mountain to climb after picking up just two points from their opening 17 games.

All of the bottom three face tough fixtures this weekend, but failure to win could see the relegation dogfight peter out with a whimper.

MELBOURNE — Six Australian Open warm-up events were on hold and hundreds of players and officials in isolation Thursday as a fresh coronavirus case left organisers scrambling to ensure the Grand Slam tennis tournament goes ahead.

Health officials insisted the risk to players and officials was "low" after a worker at one of the tournament's designated quarantine hotels tested positive.

But Thursday's play at six tournaments at Melbourne Park — five ATP and WTA warm-up tournaments, as well as the ATP Cup team event — was cancelled as a precaution.

The season's first Grand Slam, starting Monday, has already had a rocky build-up after it was delayed three weeks to allow players to quarantine and get match-fit in the warm-up events.

Victoria state Health Minister Martin Foley said the 520 people ordered to isolate and get tested were casual contacts, stressing "we are not as concerned about them".

"But out of an abundance of caution we want to ensure we leave no stone unturned in how we follow up and deal with anybody who may have had contact with this individual," he said.

Dedicated facilities have been set up to ensure they all get tested quickly and can potentially be back on court Friday, with results often returned within 24 hours.

Victoria's Deputy Chief Health Officer Allen Cheng concurred that the risk to them was "relatively low".

Formula One fiasco

Stefanos Tsitsipas and Stan Wawrinka were reportedly among those affected although the biggest names of the game, including Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, will not be among them as they spent their mandatory 14-day quarantine in Adelaide.

More than 1,000 players, coaches and officials flew into largely virus-free Australia last month, sparking debate over the whether the tournament should be held during a coronavirus pandemic.

The latest difficulties highlight the problems currently associated with holding large-scale sporting events with less than six months to go until the Tokyo Olympics. 

Aggressive restrictions on incoming travel have meant Australia has been one of the world's most successful countries in dealing with the pandemic and one of the few still able to have spectators at sports events.

Daily crowds of between 25,000 and 30,000 are expected at the Australian Open.

Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews said while there was "no guarantees" he did not expect the scheduled start of the Grand Slam to be affected, although state opposition leader Michael O'Brien demanded a definitive call within 48 hours.

"We don't want to see a situation as we did with the Grand Prix, where crowds were literally turning up, only to be turned away," the Melbourne Herald Sun quoted O'Brien as saying.

"I think people are entitled to know what's happening, and the government should be making their minds up in the next 24 to 48 hours."

Last year's Formula One Grand Prix in Melbourne, the traditional season curtain-raiser, was cancelled just hours before the first practice session after a McLaren team member tested positive.

The late decision left fans fuming as they queued to get in.

The draw for the Australian Open is due to take place later Thursday and while resentment has been bubbling on social media over whether the tournament should go ahead, on the quiet streets near Melbourne Park the public gave a mixed response. 

"I'm just disappointed because the Australian Open seemed from the beginning about profits and not the safety of the public," said John Reilly, echoing some of the online sentiment. 

But local resident Greg Rodgers said the two-week spectacle represented a "return to normalcy".

"The Australian Open is special, especially if you live in the area, because it brings such a positive impact to the city and industries," he said. 

Victoria had gone 28 days without a locally acquired infection before the latest case, which prompted a tightening of restrictions around wearing masks.

State authorities are extremely wary of coronavirus cases after Melbourne spent four months in lockdown until late October.

PARIS — Bayern Munich jet off to Qatar this week targeting another title at the FIFA Club World Cup, taking their place in the six-team tournament as winners of last year’s UEFA Champions League.

These are the teams who will be challenging the Germans, overwhelming favourites to make it an eighth straight European winner of the competition:

Palmeiras

As winners of the Copa Libertadores, South America’s premier club competition, Palmeiras represent Bayern’s primary threat in Qatar. Of the four Club World Cups not won by a European club, all have gone to teams from Brazil, with Corinthians taking the honours in 2000 and 2012, Sao Paulo in 2005 and Internacional in 2006.

Palmeiras, Brazil’s most successful club with 10 national titles, secured the Libertadores trophy for the second time over the weekend, defeating Sao Paulo state rivals Santos 1-0 courtesy of Breno Lopes’ goal in the ninth minute of stoppage time. 

Former Shakhtar Donetsk star Luiz Adriano, who returned to Brazil in 2019 after more than a decade in Europe as the Porto Alegre outfit defeated Barcelona 2-1 in the final.

Gabriel Menino, a versatile midfielder but also touted as the heir apparent at right-back to Dani Alves for Brazil, is one to watch while a host of Europe’s top clubs are reportedly courting 18-year-old attacker Gabriel Veron, who missed the Copa Libertadores final due to injury.

Al Ahly

The Egyptian giants celebrated a record-extending ninth African Champions League title last year, defeating Cairo rivals Zamalek in the first final featuring clubs from the same country. 

South African Pitso Mosimane became only the third coach to win the competition with two clubs, having led Mamelodi Sundowns to the 2016 title. Al Ahly conceded just eight goals in 34 games in cruising to a fifth successive league triumph, and won the Egyptian Cup on penalties in December.

They will be appearing at the Club World Cup for the sixth time, their best showing a third-place finish 15 years ago when they were beaten in the semifinals by eventual champions Internacional of Brazil.

Mohamed “Afsha” Magdy, whose late winner saw off Zamalek to punch Al Ahly’s ticket to Qatar, is one of several Egypt internationals in the squad.

Ulsan Hyundai

The South Korean club return to Qatar barely six weeks after their Asian Champions League success. Ulsan reeled off nine successive wins once the delayed tournament restarted after its relocation to the Gulf state. 

Former national team star Hong Myung-bo, a cornerstone of the side that reached the 2002 World Cup semifinals, has replaced Kim Do-hoon as coach. 

Veteran striker Junior Negrao spent much of his career bouncing around the Brazilian lower leagues but has found a place to call home in Ulsan. 

His double in the December final secured victory over Iran’s Persepolis, and a haul of 26 goals in 27 K-League games last term mark him out as the man to watch for the Koreans.

Tigres UANL

The Mexican side ended their long wait for an elusive CONCACAF Champions League crown with a dramatic victory over Los Angeles FC in the 2020 final. 

After finishing runners-up in three of the past four editions, Tigres finally got their hands on the trophy as former Marseille and France striker Andre-Pierre Gignac hit a late winner in Orlando. 

Gignac, 35, has been a huge success at the Liga-MX outfit, scoring 144 goals in 244 games since joining on a free transfer in 2015, although his effectiveness could be hampered by a hip injury sustained last month.

Mexican champions on seven occasions, most recently in 2019, Tigres are making their Club World Cup debut. No team from the region has ever reached the final.

Al Duhail

The reigning champions of the host nation, Al Duhail received a bye through the first round after would-be Oceania representatives Auckland City withdrew because of the pandemic and related quarantine measures required by the New Zealand authorities.

Managed by former France international and ex-Rennes and Nottingham Forest coach Sabri Lamouchi, Al Duhail can count on the experience of Morocco international Medhi Benatia, formerly of Bayern and Juventus, in defence.

Much of Al Duhail’s firepower is derived from Brazilian duo Edmilson Junior and Dudu, the latter incidentally appearing twice for Palmeiras in the Copa Libertadores group stage before moving on loan to Qatar in July.