Paris Saint-Germain became the first three-time winners of the Al Kass
International Cup, beating Kashiwa Reysol, 2-1 in the final yesterday.
The French club had also won the tournament in 2012 and 2015.
Benfica took third place by beating Espérance de Tunis, 3-0.
Kashiwa wasted no time in the title match, opening up an early lead. In
the fourth minute, Hayato Fujimoto launched a remarkable shot from the
right side over the head of PSG keeper Trey Vimalin, a remarkable goal
that set the tone for the rest of the game.
With the lead, Kashiwa settled into its usual defensive posture, and PSG
went on the attack. The French side equalised on 33 minutes, when
Tanguy Coulibaly got on the end of a low cross and gave keeper Leo
Kokubo no chance.
The second half saw more retrenchment from Kashiwa and more siege from
PSG. The pressure came to fruition in the 54th minute, when a Kashiwa
defender was whistled for a handball in the area. Coulibaly snuck his
penalty underneath Kokubo, and PSG had its lead.
Kashiwa was forced to bring its attack forward and nearly equalised with
15 minutes remaining, but Vimalin was just able to tip Hosoya’s shot
wide. It was the last, best chance for Kashiwa, who could only watch as
PSG raised the cup for the third time.
PSG coach Laurent Huard said, “It was an extremely difficult match.
Kashiwa had a strong defence, so we didn’t have an opportunity to score
more goals, but thankfully we managed to score the second goal and win
the Al Kass International Tournament. I’m so proud of my team, the
performed phenomenally.”
Qatar Football Association secretary-general Mansoor al-Ansari said, “To
see the youth come up and always play against great teams from all over
the world is an amazing experience for them, and for us, across the
board. And also on an organisational basis, to give all of the
participating teams the opportunity to experience what Qatar has to
offer, from the facilities to the nice weather, as well as the level of
football, I think it will be a great memory for all of the players.”
The winners medals were presented by football legend Ra?l Gonzalez, Real
Madrid’s second all-time leading scorer who also played for Al Sadd in
the QNB Stars League.
“I’m happy to be back at Aspire Academy to see old colleagues and
friends. It is great to see the constant progress in football and how
enthusiastic people are about the game,” he said. “The Al Kass
tournament is one of the best examples of this. Al Kass provides one of
the most valuable opportunities to see the best talents in football, and
maybe we will see some of these young players come back to Qatar for
the 2022 World Cup.”
The third-place match was a classic case of an unstoppable force meeting
an immovable object. Portuguese side Benfica took the field as the
highest-scoring team in the tournament, with 20 goals in their first
four matches. Espérance, on the other hand, leaned heavily on its back
line, not conceding a goal until the semi-finals.
The first half was scoreless, but on 56 minutes, a series of short
passes in the area set up Ronaldo Camara for the game’s first goal.
Benfica maintained that momentum, and in the 76th minute, substitute
Javier Tavares found the net with a hard, low shot. Fittingly, Benfica’s
third and final goal of the tournament came courtesy of Gonçalo Ramos,
who tapped home a cross from Tavares with two minutes left. The goal was
Ramos’s sixth of the tournament, the most of any player.
Ahmed al-Abbassi, Executive Director of Qatar national teams, said,
“It’s extremely important to participate in such a great event. We
participate in several big tournaments, but the Al Kass International
Cup is by far the strongest in terms of technical quality of the
different teams that we play against. It’s a catalyst for the players to
gain experience against the best players in the world of their age.”
Moving down the table, in fifth place were Aspire Football Dreams, Real
Madrid (Spain) were sixth, AC Milan (Italy) were seventh, and Aspire
Academy (Qatar) took eighth.
Finishing ninth through 12th, respectively, were Tottenham Hotspur
(England), Guangzhou Evergrande (China), Wydad AC (Morocco) and
Fenerbahçe (Turkey).
Former Al Sadd and Real Madrid star Raul Gonzalez (left) presented the medals to the winners in the presence of Qatar Football Association secretary-general Mansoor al-Ansari and other officials yesterday. PICTURES: Jayaram