Real Madrid match-winner Gareth Bale paid tribute to Al Jazira’s fight in their Fifa Club World Cup semi-final as the defending champions now look forward to making history in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.
Introduced at Zayed Sports City stadium on Wednesday night with 10 minutes remaining, Bale grabbed the decisive goal moments later with his first touch to give Madrid a deserved but hard-fought comeback victory.
Despite the Spanish side’s dominance, Jazira had taken an unexpected first-half lead through Romarinho, with Madrid needing Cristiano Ronaldo to level matters soon after the break and then Bale to seal the 2-1 win.
Zinedine Zidane's men now face Brazil's Gremio, the recently crowned Copa Libertadores champions, in the final, as they attempt to become the first team to clinch back-to-back Club World Cup titles.
However, before turning attention to Saturday, Bale gave credit to Jazira and especially Ali Khaseif, after the UAE goalkeeper made a series of outstanding saves in the opening 20 minutes of the semi-final. In the first half alone, Madrid had 17 shots, while Khaseif’s eight saves were the most made this season by any goalkeeper against Madrid before half time.
"It was amazing," Bale said. "He made some amazing saves. We were kind of joking a bit about it on the bench, but then it started to get a bit more serious.
"They made it difficult for us. We had a lot of chances and on another day it could have been more, but you have to give credit to them, they fought hard. We had to get the job done at the end of day and that’s what we did.
“We had control for most of the game. We had a lot of chances. On another day we score five, six, seven goals, but obviously you have these games where sometimes the ball just doesn’t go into the net. It’s football, this happens and you have to just keep fighting and this is all we can do."
The win would have been particularly pleasing for Bale, whose injury problems had restricted him to one appearance in almost three months. This season, he has played little more than 750 minutes for Madrid, although has still managed to score four goals and register five assists.
The Welshman has had several fitness concerns since arriving at the Bernabeu four years ago, but hopes his winner against Jazira can spark the beginning of a sustained run in the side.
“Obviously players go through these phases in their career,” he said. “This is my time, I suppose. It’s been difficult, but it was nice to come on and to get the winner. The most important thing was to get through to the final, it didn’t matter who scored. But it was obviously nice on a personal note.
“For me now it’s about building up my fitness, my confidence and trying to help the team. It’s been a frustrating few months in terms of injuries, so I had to take my time. It’s great to come back today, but I need to be patient with myself.
"It’s a long season and hopefully now I can come back from this and play the rest of the games in the rest of the season without any problems.
“It’s physical,” he added. “It’s nothing to do with my mind. As I said, it’s just one of those times where I’m having a few problems. Since the operation on my ankle, things in my body have changed so I have to be patient.
"I just need to work hard. I’m doing everything I possibly can off the pitch to get myself back to full fitness. And hopefully I can come back and be strong for the rest of the season.”
Asked about facing Gremio in Saturday’s showpiece, Bale said: "I didn't even know who was in the final until you just said. Now we'll recover from this and pay our attention to the next game. We came here to win the trophy and defend our crown.”
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Read more:
Mbark Boussoufa: Al Jazira 'very proud' of effort against Real Madrid but focus is now on Pachuca
Henk ten Cate proud of Al Jazira for giving Real Madrid a fright at A Club World Cup
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Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company%20Profile
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GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
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The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
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Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
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Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)
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How Alia's experiment will help humans get to Mars
Alia’s winning experiment examined how genes might change under the stresses caused by being in space, such as cosmic radiation and microgravity.
Her samples were placed in a machine on board the International Space Station. called a miniPCR thermal cycler, which can copy DNA multiple times.
After the samples were examined on return to Earth, scientists were able to successfully detect changes caused by being in space in the way DNA transmits instructions through proteins and other molecules in living organisms.
Although Alia’s samples were taken from nematode worms, the results have much bigger long term applications, especially for human space flight and long term missions, such as to Mars.
It also means that the first DNA experiments using human genomes can now be carried out on the ISS.
Global Fungi Facts
• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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MORE ON TURKEY'S SYRIA OFFENCE
The specs
Engine: 5.0-litre V8
Power: 480hp at 7,250rpm
Torque: 566Nm at 4,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: L/100km
Price: Dh306,495
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KEY HIGHLIGHTS
Healthcare spending to double to $2.2 trillion rupees
Launched a 641billion-rupee federal health scheme
Allotted 200 billion rupees for the recapitalisation of state-run banks
Around 1.75 trillion rupees allotted for privatisation and stake sales in state-owned assets
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
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What are the regulations?
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Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
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Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
