Today in Osaka, the World Club Cup battles began - two quarter-final matches were played, after which the opponents of "Barcelona" and Buenos Aires' "River Plate" were revealed in the semi-finals.
The UEFA Champions League winners will face off against "Guangzhou Evergrande". The Chinese team, bouncing back from a missed goal, forced Mexico's "America" to surrender in the final minutes.
In the second half, the Mexicans were ahead thanks to Oribe Peralta. For a long time, it seemed that "America" would secure the victory, but in the 80th minute Zheng Long equalized the score, and during extra time, former London "Tottenham" midfielder Paulinho scored the winning goal with his head.
In the other semi-final, Hiroshima's "Sanfrecce" footballers celebrated an easy victory, beating "TP Mazembe" from DR Congo with a score of 3-0.
At the end of the first half, Tsukasa Shiotani gave the Japanese team the advantage, and after the break, Kazuhiko Chiba and Takuma Asano added goals with precise shots.
"Sanfrecce" will face "River Plate," the owner of the "Copa Libertadores," in the semi-finals.
Results:
"America" 1 - 2 "Guangzhou Evergrande" [1-0] 55' Oribe Peralta [1-1] 80' Long Zheng [1-2] 90' Paulinho
"TP Mazembe" 0 - 3 "Sanfrecce" [0-1] 44' Tsukasa Shiotani [0-2] 56' Kazuhiko Chiba [0-3] 78' Takuma Asano
