Here it is! Sergio Ramos lifts the Club World Cup to fireworks and jubilation! Well done, Real Madrid, and well done Kashima Antlers too. That’s all from me, thanks for reading.
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Out of nowhere Colombian side Atlético Nacional have turned up to collect their third-place medals. Unbelievable. Please, please dish out the trophy.
Gaku Shibasaki took the bronze ball. His goals today were lovely to watch. Ronaldo now accepts a big cardboard key. I’m lost. Please dish out the trophy.
Modric receives the ‘silver ball’ for being the second best player of the tournament. Cristiano Ronaldo accepts the ‘golden ball’ of which he has many.
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Fifa chief Gianni Infantino is on hand to dish out some medals. First the officials, and now the Kashima Antlers – who also take down the fair play award.
Real Madrid’s unbeaten record, by the way, now stretches to 37 games and this will be the third trophy they’ve picked up during that run.
A medium-budget light show ensues before the Club World Cup is dramatically taken from one plinth and placed on another. That seemed like a crucial piece of the narrative but I’m unsure why.
It’s a little chilly in Yokohama and Ronaldo is wearing a puffa jacket as his team go to collect the trophy. The lights go out, some intense music comes on, and I can tell this is going to be a terrific trophy presentation.
That’s Cristiano Ronaldo’s 40th hat-trick for Real Madrid. Not bad.
The Kashima Antlers were brilliant, as were their tireless fans, and gave Real Madrid a real scare. They might have got more had the referee gone through with his initial reaction when it seemed Sergio Ramos might be sent off, and had Yuma buried his header in extra-time we might now be in a penalty shootout. But Ronaldo did what Ronaldo does so well and Madrid have secured their second Club World Cup in three years.
Full-time aet: Real Madrid 4-2 Kashima Antlers
Well that was an awful lot of fun.
ET 119 min A couple of minutes left and the Kashima fans will bounce and chant their way through them..
ET 116 min Naomichi Ueda (of pre-match crocodile fame) blocks Morata’s shot on the line to deny what would have been a sensational goal. The striker weaved in and out on a long dribble, leaving defenders lying on the ground before pummelling a shot past the keeper Sogahata but Ueda did well to get back.
ET 113 min Kovacic injects a little pace into a tired game and wins a foul in Kashima’s half. Akasaki replaces Nagaki.
@LawrenceOstlere Use the Force, Antlers, use the Force.
— Andrew Benton (@thangnangman) December 18, 2016
ET 111 min Ronaldo trots off and is replaced by Álvaro Morata.
Told you so.
Good call @LawrenceOstlere at the @guardian :P pic.twitter.com/hw9bxoZMFp
— Anupam Das (@57Anupam) December 18, 2016
ET 110 min The Kashima Antlers fans are bouncing. They’ve loved this.
ET 108 min Sergio Ramos hands the captain’s armband to Marcelo and is replaced by Nacho.
ET 105 min The second half gets under way. Kovacic replaces Modric and almost immediately puts Ronaldo in on goal, but Sogahata comes out of goal to intercept.
Half-time in extra-time: Real Madrid 4-2 Kashima Antlers
Had Yuma found the back of the net instead of the meat of the crossbar we could be looking at a thrilling finale, but instead it looks like being Real and Ronaldo’s night.
GOAL! Real Madrid 4-2 Kashima Antlers (Ronaldo, 103 min)
Kroos’s shot is scuffed into the path of Ronaldo in the box who quickly shifts the ball from under his feet before slamming in his hat-trick. It’s a brilliant reaction from the forward and finally Real have surely shaken off Kashima for good.
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ET 101 min Crossbar! Shibasaki delivers the free-kick and Yuma slams a header on to the bar from six yards. Kashima should be level again!
ET 99 min Mu shows a lovely touch of skill to shimmy away from Casemiro and draw a foul. The Madrid midfielder is booked and Kashima will have a free-kick wide on the left.
GOAL! Real Madrid 3-2 Kashima Antlers (Ronaldo, 98 min)
And just like that Real lead. Benzema drops deep, turns, and slides Cristiano Ronaldo into the area who hits a quick shot low past Sogahata.
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ET 95 min Fabricio suddenly leads a break and is one on one with Casemiro but can only win a corner from the midfielder – which Navas catches.
@LawrenceOstlere Chinese super leagues can buy Oscar, Hulk etc, but we rarely have the fighting spirit like Antlers show today.
— Peng (@PengM83) December 18, 2016
The performance, and the support, of the Kashima Antlers has been so impressive.
ET 93 min Substitute Fabricio is booked for an uncultured lunge on Varane.
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Extra-time!
Real immediately get their collective foot on the ball and make Kashima chase.
What a game. Kashima have stunned Real Madrid and Shibasaki’s second goal in particular was a thing of beauty. I wouldn’t like to accuse the European champions of complacency, but you can draw your own conclusions from moments like Ramos’s spectacular assist for that Shibasaki goal. Another 30 minutes to come. The players have finished their pre-extra-time huddles...
Full-time: Real Madrid 2-2 Kashima Antlers
Kashima finish on the attack and Endo should win it, but with the last kick of the 90 minutes he slices his shot badly wide from an admittedly tight angle. Extra-time awaits.
90 min Controversy in Yokohama. Ramos commits a foul and the referee jogs over reaching for his pocket. Ramos has already been booked so this is his game over, surely... but the Madrid captain runs away from the scene and the referee seems to backtrack on the decision in the meantime, simply awarding a free-kick.
88 min A couple of brilliant chances for Kashima which could have been game winners, the latter of which saw Navas make a crucial save from Kanazaki Mu.
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87 min Kashima attack, lifting crosses into the box, but when Real eventually win it back they are badly exposed. Ronaldo is released one on one and this looks ominous as he approaches the area, but then seems to lose his footing and has the ball taken away.
85 min Real come forward again and Benzema releases Ronaldo on the left, whose cross is blocked. Corner. Kroos works a short one with Ronaldo before bending a lovely ball to the back post for Benzema, who shrugs off his marker and sends a diving header over the bar from no more than five yards. That was an excellent chance.
83 min Carvajal attempts a cross which is too close to keeper Sogahata. Ronaldo looks disgusted.
80 min Zidane makes his first change: Isco replaces Lucas Vázquez.
77 min Vázquez approaches from the right of the box but his route is closed off so he tees up the arriving Modric instead. The midfielder slams a shot towards goal but a couple of defenders in red and black throw themselves in its path to make the block.
75 min The Kashima supporters continue their constant wave of noise in Yokohama, although their team are having to chase the ball again as Real begin to assert some control. Kroos drifts a cross from the left towards Ronaldo in the centre but it’s flicked away by Shoji.
72 min Ronaldo has the ball in the Kashima net again after pouncing on a rebound from Benzema’s powerful volley, but he was well offside when the shot was hit.
71 min Endo shoots from just outside Madrid’s area but it is straightforward for Navas to gather.
69 min This looks nasty – Kaylor Navas rushes out unnecessarily to get his head to a ball 30 yards from goal and in doing so crashes into the retreating Sergio Ramos. The Real captain takes a bit of time to get his breath back but he’s OK to continue.
66 min Fabricio replaces Ogasawara for Kashima.
62 min Real almost take the lead, first when a fired-up Ronaldo strikes a low drive towards the post which Sogahata tips away, before a Ramos shot flies just over.
GOAL! Real Madrid 2-2 Kashima Antlers (Ronaldo pen, 60 min)
Lucas Vázquez chases a through pass into the box where he is first held back by Shibasaki before being clattered by the captain Yamamoto. It’s a definite penalty and the latter is booked. Ronaldo drives the penalty into the bottom-left corner before rushing back to the centre with the ball under his arm.
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Penalty to Real Madrid!
57 min Suddenly Real Madrid are taking quick free-kicks and playing with urgency. They are not supposed to lose this.
55 min Ramos is booked for a body check.
GOAL! Real Madrid 1-2 Kashima Antlers (Shibasaki, 52 min)
Sergio Ramos hooks a mad clearance from near the corner flag towards the edge of his own box. Shibasaki collects it, and shifts the ball on to his left foot before slamming a low shot into the corner. Navas might have done better but it’s a great finish. Yikes.
50 min Ronaldo has been largely disappointing so far. He tries a back-flick to Marcelo but it doesn’t come off. He will probably score a hat-trick.
48 min Another corner, this time swung out by Modric from the right, and Ramos’s looping header lands on the roof of the net.
47 min Real go straight on the attack and win a corner, which Kroos jogs over to take. It’s a useful in-swinger but Kashima defend it well.
Second half!
Will Kashima pull off an upset? Probably not, but do keep me company while we find out.
The players are pottering on to the field for the second half. More Club World Cup final action imminent.
Half-time entertainment
Half-time: Real Madrid 1-1 Kashima Antlers
Game on!
GOAL! Real Madrid 1-1 Kashima Antlers (Shibasaki, 43)
Kashima fashion a counterattack through Shoma but he’s chased down. However, they stick at it and when Shoma digs a cross into the box, Shibasaki reacts quicker than Ramos and Varane, taking a touch before flashing a bouncing volley past Navas from 8 yards.
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40 min Benzema bundles into Mitsuo in the corner and concedes a free-kick.
38 min Modric tries a shot from range which is well held by Sogahata.
36 min A lull. On the pitch that is, because the supporters are unrelenting. I went to baseball game in Japan and the support was equally spectacular, with a classy understanding that you let your opponents chant unopposed when their team is in bat and vice versa. A nice touch.
33 min Real break through Benzema who feeds Ronaldo breaking through the middle. The forward tries a stepover, accidentally kicking the ball to a Kashima defender, and then commits a foul to round off an unusually inept moment.
30 min Modric is bumped to the ground and Cristiano Ronaldo will line up the resulting free-kick, 30 yards out. He batters it at the wall and then slams the rebound over.
27 min The Kashima Antlers fans, who have made a relatively short journey down the east coast of Japan for this one, are in fantastic voice.
25 min Benzema works a one-two with Vázquez before slamming a low shot towards the near post, which Sogahata parries behind. Ronaldo gets his head to the corner but his aim is off.
22 min Half a chance for the Antlers through Endo, who faces up to Ramos one-on-one on the corner of the box and fires a shot, but it’s off target. At the other end Ronaldo tees up Vázquez but his effort from 12 yards is blocked.
20 min Not a huge amount happening right now, to be honest. Real continue to dominate the ball but they are a little sloppy when they get into the final third.
Could be a conservative prediction, this:
@LawrenceOstlere flying crocs or no flying crocs RM by 2. I'm a fire breathing arctic camel(?????). Up since 5am with my 17mth old twins! 😳😳
— John McEnerney (@MackerOnTheMed) December 18, 2016
15 min Madrid have had 67% of possession so far and it feels far higher. They have a corner but Kashima defend well.
13 min Lucas Vázquez collects the ball just outside Kashima’s area, shifts it on to his right foot and lets fly, but his effort is a full goalmouth too high.
10 min Kashima have their first chance of the match almost immediately after kick-off, Ogasawara trying his luck from 20 yards but it flies just over.
GOAL! Real Madrid 1-0 Kashima Antlers (Benzema, 8 min)
Real Madrid keep the ball for a couple of minutes before Modric tries a volley from the edge of the box. It’s saved by Sogahata but he can’t hold on to it and Karim Benzema pounces on the rebound to tap Real in front.
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6 min Real Madrid are enjoying an ominous amount of the ball.
4 min Karim Benzema gathers a long pass near the corner flag and faces up to right-back Shoji. He tries a trick but instead manages to fall over and Shoji takes the ball away.
2 min Sergio Ramos gets in an early foul to let Kashima know what he’s all about. They know, Sergio.
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Kick-off!
The match is under way and Kashima are straight on the attack.
The teams!
Real Madrid: Navas; Carvajal, Ramos, Varane, Marcelo; Casemiro, Modric, Kroos; Vazquez, Ronaldo, Karim Benzema
Kashima Antlers: Sogahata; Daigo, Shoji, Ueda, Nagaki; Yamamoto, Endo, Mitsuo, Shibasaki, Shoma; Kanazaki
Preamble
Real Madrid will become only the third side to claim a second Club World Cup title should they win in Yokohama, following in the footsteps of Corinthians and their old friends Barcelona.
Standing in their way are the Japanese champions, who have knocked out three teams to get to the final, and defender Naomichi Ueda smells blood. “I’m a crocodile,” he said yesterday. “Just as a crocodile will complete its conquest by dragging its prey into the water, I just want to bring them down, whether it’s in the air or on the ground, one on one.” If the thought of a flying crocodile doesn’t have you up for this one, nothing will.
Kashima can make their own history as the first team to win the tournament outside of Europe or Brazil. We are about to find out the answer to the question we have all been pondering... Who is the greatest football team in the world: Real Madrid or the Kashima Antlers?
Kick-off: 10.30pm GMT
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