Real Madrid win FIFA club World Cup, hammer Al Ain 4-1

Spanish giants Real Madrid claimed their third fifa Club World cup on Saturday defeating Al Ain 4-1 at the Zayed Sports City. UAE showed indeed the massive love for the game as fans trooped out in their numbers to the match.

Ballon d’Or winner Luka Modric had the Spaniards 1-0 up at half-time before second half strikes from Marcos Llorente and Sergio Ramos. Al Ain’s Tsukasa Shiotani pulled one back before the end but not before Vinicius Junior got another for Real.

This is Real Madrid’s third Club World Cup win in a row and they now overtake Barcelona for the record of most titles with four.

Al Ain, meanwhile, became the first UAE side to play in a Club World Cup final, beating Al Jazira’s previous best finish for the country, when they made the semi-finals last year before a 2-1 defeat to Real.

The tournament will be remembered for Al Ain’s shock 5-4 penalty shootout win over River Plate in the semis, which will go down as the UAE’s greatest sporting moment, and one of world football’s biggest upsets.

The clash had started on a nervy note for both sides, but Modric then settled Madrid’s nerves in the 14the minute after Karim Benzema chested down a cross for Modric to deliver. Real sent Kashima Antlers packing 3-1 in their semi on Wednesday.