WASHINGTON (AP) — Kaku scored early in the second half to lift Al Ain to a 2-1 victory over Wydad on Thursday in the final match of the Club World Cup for both clubs.
Both teams were already eliminated from contention for the tournament's knockout round. They went into the final group match without a win in Group G, which was dominated by Juventus and Manchester City.
Manchester City defeated Juventus 5-2 simultaneously in Orlando, Florida, to claim the top spot in the group.
Wydad coach Mohamed Amine Benhachem was at the game on crutches following a traffic accident with a team physician earlier in the week. No one involved in the accident was seriously injured, but the Moroccan coach was unable to attend the team's news conference the day before the match.
Wydad scored in the fourth minute. Cassius Mailula found himself unchallenged at the end of a cross by Mohamed Moufid and beat goalkeeper Rui Patrício at the near post. Mailula is currently on loan to Wydad from Toronto FC in Major League Soccer.
Kodjo Laba converted a penalty just before halftime to pull Al Ain even.
Al Ain took the lead in the 50th minute when Paraguayan international Kaku finished into the upper right corner. Wydad centerback Jamal Harkass was injured in the run-up to the goal and had to be taken off on a stretcher.
Temperatures during the match at Audi Field were in the 90s Fahrenheit (30s Celsius).
Laba's successful penalty, which was confirmed by video review, broke a scoreless run in the tournament by the team from the United Arab Emirates. The Togolese forward was the UAE Pro League’s top scorer this past season.
With both teams already eliminated, the outcome was mostly a matter of pride for the winner. Wydad's only previous goal in the tournament came from Thembinkosi Lorch against Juventus.
“I think it's a good experience. It was a difficult group, with (Manchester) City and Juventus, but we competed until the end. I think this is good for Al Ain,” — Kaku.
“It's been difficult, and we are sorry that we didn't get the best result. Didn't win, but learned a lot. It was a great experience for us as a team going forward, also just for us to focus and regroup, and yes, to learn. The most important thing is to learn and take lessons to grow,” — Mailula.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Al Ain's Mohammed Abbas and Wydad AC's Ayoub Boucheta fall as they compete for the ball during the Club World Cup Group G soccer match between Wydad AC and Al Ain FC in Washington, Thursday, June 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Al Ain's Abdoul Karim Traore and Wydad AC's Selemani Mwalimu chae the ball during the Club World Cup Group G soccer match between Wydad AC and Al Ain FC in Washington, Thursday, June 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Al Ain's Abdoul Karim Traore and Wydad AC's Selemani Mwalimu chae the ball during the Club World Cup Group G soccer match between Wydad AC and Al Ain FC in Washington, Thursday, June 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
ST. LOUIS (AP) — World champions Ilia Malinin and the ice dance duo of Madison Chock and Evan Bates will anchor one of the strongest U.S. Figure Skating teams in history when they head to Italy for the Milan Cortina Olympics in less than a month.
Malinin, fresh off his fourth straight national title, will be the prohibitive favorite to follow in the footsteps of Nathan Chen by delivering another men's gold medal for the American squad when he steps on the ice at the Milano Ice Skating Arena.
Chock and Bates, who won their record-setting seventh U.S. title Saturday night, also will be among the Olympic favorites, as will world champion Alysa Liu and women's teammate Amber Glenn, fresh off her third consecutive national title.
U.S. Figure Skating announced its full squad of 16 athletes for the Winter Games during a made-for-TV celebration Sunday.
"I'm just so excited for the Olympic spirit, the Olympic environment," Malinin said. “Hopefully go for that Olympic gold.”
Malinin will be joined on the men's side by Andrew Torgashev, the all-or-nothing 24-year-old from Coral Springs, Florida, and Maxim Naumov, the 24-year-old from Simsbury, Connecticut, who fulfilled the hopes of his late parents by making the Olympic team.
Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova were returning from a talent camp in Kansas when their American Airlines flight collided with a military helicopter and crashed into the icy Potomac River in January 2025. One of the last conversations they had with their son was about what it would take for him to follow in their footsteps by becoming an Olympian.
“We absolutely did it,” Naumov said. “Every day, year after year, we talked about the Olympics. It means so much in our family. It's what I've been thinking about since I was 5 years old, before I even know what to think. I can't put this into words.”
Chock and Bates helped the Americans win team gold at the Beijing Games four years ago, but they finished fourth — one spot out of the medals — in the ice dance competition. They have hardly finished anywhere but first in the years since, winning three consecutive world championships and the gold medal at three straight Grand Prix Finals.
U.S. silver medalists Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik also made the dance team, as did the Canadian-born Christina Carreira, who became eligible for the Olympics in November when her American citizenship came through, and Anthony Ponomarenko.
Liu was picked for her second Olympic team after briefly retiring following the Beijing Games. She had been burned out by years of practice and competing, but stepping away seemed to rejuvenate the 20-year-old from Clovis, California, and she returned to win the first world title by an American since Kimmie Meissner stood atop the podium two decades ago.
Now, the avant-garde Liu will be trying to help the U.S. win its first women's medal since Sasha Cohen in Turin in 2006, and perhaps the first gold medal since Sarah Hughes triumphed four years earlier at the Salt Lake City Games.
Her biggest competition, besides a powerful Japanese contingent, could come from her own teammates: Glenn, a first-time Olympian, has been nearly unbeatable the past two years, while 18-year-old Isabeau Levito is a former world silver medalist.
"This was my goal and my dream and it just feels so special that it came true,” said Levito, whose mother is originally from Milan.
The two pairs spots went to Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea, the U.S. silver medalists, and the team of Emily Chan and Spencer Howe.
The top American pairs team, two-time reigning U.S. champions Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov, were hoping that the Finnish-born Efimova would get her citizenship approved in time to compete in Italy. But despite efforts by the Skating Club of Boston, where they train, and the help of their U.S. senators, she did not receive her passport by the selection deadline.
“The importance and magnitude of selecting an Olympic team is one of the most important milestones in an athlete's life,” U.S. Figure Skating CEO Matt Farrell said, "and it has such an impact, and while there are sometimes rules, there is also a human element to this that we really have to take into account as we make decisions and what's best going forward from a selection process.
“Sometimes these aren't easy," Farrell said, “and this is not the fun part.”
The fun is just beginning, though, for the 16 athletes picked for the powerful American team.
AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
Amber Glenn competes during the women's free skating competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Alysa Liu skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Maxim Naumov skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Madison Chock and Evan Bates skate during the "Making the Team" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Gold medalist Ilia Malinin arrives for the metal ceremony after the men's free skate competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
