Latest news with #Rayners
The Citizen
a day ago
- Sport
- The Citizen
First half strike seals historic opening World Club Cup win for Masandawana
Mamelodi Sundowns defeated South Korea's Ulsan HD, securing a 1–0 victory in their opening FIFA Club World Cup match on June 18 at the Inter & Co Stadium in Orlando, Florida, in the United States. The match was delayed by an hour due to unfavourable weather conditions, but despite the wait, Bafana Ba Style's hopes of winning their first match of the tournament became a reality. Masandawana got off to a great start, nearly opening the scoring through Arthur Sales, who struck a shot from a tight angle on the left flank, but the goalkeeper denied them an early opener. The opposition were quick to retaliate, but the shot taken right in front of the goal sailed over the bar. During the first half, the game was evenly balanced, with both teams trading chances without scoring. Iqraam Rayners squeezed himself into the box, but his shot rolled over a few inches wide. Two minutes later, he found the back of the net from a free-kick, only for the goal to be ruled out. No hat-trick, but Rayners still gets the job done for Mamelodi Sundowns 🫡 — 433 (@433) June 18, 2025 In the 36th minute, through a defence-splitting pass orchestrated by Lucas Ribeiro, Rayners found the ball and slotted it in, breaking the deadlock for his side. Sundowns were awarded a free-kick outside the area, following a foul by the visitors. Known for his deadly set-pieces, Tebogo Mokoena nearly doubled the lead before half-time, firing a strong shot, but the Ulsan goalkeeper dived in the right direction to keep his team in the match. In a tense moment before the break, Ronwen Williams came out to defend a ball that eventually went past him, but luckily, Divine Lunga was steadfast on the net to clear the danger away. The Brazilians went to the interval leading by a goal. The second half saw Ulsan dominating the ball and taking plenty of chances to find a goal that would level matters, but the Downs backline remained steadfast and denied them a goal. In the final 10 minutes, the match grew increasingly tense. Masandawana came close to scoring a second goal, but a lack of balance in front of the goal allowed Ulsan to clear. Ahead of the match, coach Miguel Cardoso highlighted the importance of performing against a range of strong international teams. 'I'm looking forward to seeing how we perform against an Asian team, as well as Dortmund and Fluminense. These are three different tests, and we have to make the most of them all,' Cardoso said. He emphasised the importance of self-belief and taking each game as it comes. 'Obviously, for us, it would be an incredible achievement to go through the group stage, but before we achieve that, we need to get points. So, we need to play a very complete match tomorrow.' Mamelodi Sundowns supporter Godwin Nyathi was full of praise for the team's commitment. 'Personally, what stood out for me is how the team conducted themselves. They showed passion and hunger. They were very determined from the first minute until the last minute of the game, and that is what we always want to see as the fans of Mamelodi Sundowns,' he said. Well done to our brothers!! 👏🎉 Let's keep making the Nation proud 🇿🇦👆#SundownsLadies #AfricaToTheWorld — Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies Team (@SundownsLadies) June 18, 2025 Nyathi said he believes Sundowns have what it takes to go further in the World Cup as they started off to a great start, and people should expect a couple of surprises. Do you have more information about the story? Please send us an email to bennittb@ or phone us on 083 625 4114. For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord's websites: Rekord East For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram or TikTok. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading! Stay in the know. Download the Caxton Local News Network App Stay in the know. Download the Caxton Local News Network App here
The Star
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Star
Iqraam Rayners: All about the small details for Mamelodi Sundowns at Fifa Club World Cup
Matshelane Mamabolo | Published 49 minutes ago IQRAAM Rayners has expressed his delight at having helped Mamelodi Sundowns win their opening match at the Fifa Club World Cup, after scoring in Masandawana's 1-0 victory over Ulsan HD in Orlando, Florida in the United States on Wednesday. Rayners walked away with the Player of the Match award thanks to his 36th-minute strike, a toe-poke from close range after he'd been sent sailing by Lucas Ribeiro's sublime through-ball. The duo actually combined two more times in the match for Rayners to score, but both goals were ruled out by VAR. The first was because the ball had made contact with the striker's arm before it went in, and the other one was due to the Capetonian having been offside when the Brazilian made the pass. Not that Rayners was gutted by not having had a World Cup hat-trick. Far from it, for though he'd protested against the initial denial, Rayners was just pleased Sundowns won. 'The important thing was for us to get a win tonight, and that's what matters. I am happy we won the game,' he said during the post-match press conference. 'For me, it was about my team first and the technical team, and then the people behind us (the fans). 'We had a lot of opportunities to kill the game, but I am happy for the victory.' Though he admitted the match was a tight contest, he said nothing about their opponents surprised them – not even the fact that the South Koreans were far less physical than they'd been made out to be. 'The coach spoke to the players about the small details, so we were not surprised about them (Ulsan) because the coach gave us all the details, which were important,' the Bafana striker said. 'He told us how important it is to move the ball quicker; that we must play to our strengths, and for us (strikers) to create the passing lines for the midfielders and the two number 10s. 'It was important for us to know that Themba (Zwane) and Lucas were there (on the pitch).' Coach Miguel Cardoso spoke of Rayners' importance to the team: 'He put the ball inside the net, and it is a moment that when it happens it is the reason for all the excitement. 'He is a player with a wonderful contribution, and he understands very well how to use the spaces that appear on the pitch.' The Portuguese lauded Rayners for his tenacity. 'He did not have an easy season because he had highs and lows. But he finished it well in winning the South African league, and played in the Champions League, and now he's showing it here in the World Cup. 'It's wonderful to have the quality players, and we have a locker-room full of them.' Cardoso says all he and his technical team have to do is arm the players for battle. 'We just need to give them the tools so that they feel free. The players like Iqraam, they are creative players and need to have the proper emotional freedom and a comfort to express the best they can, so that they can give their best for the team.' And there can be no denying that Rayners did just that on matchday one of Sundowns' Club World Cup campaign. Now he has to replicate that showing against Germany's Borussia Dortmund in their next match on Saturday (6pm SA time kick-off).
IOL News
2 days ago
- Sport
- IOL News
Iqraam Rayners: All about the small details for Mamelodi Sundowns at Fifa Club World Cup
Iqraam Rayners scored the only goal for Mamelodi Sundowns against Ulsan. Photo: BackpagePix Image: BackpagePix IQRAAM Rayners has expressed his delight at having helped Mamelodi Sundowns win their opening match at the Fifa Club World Cup, after scoring in Masandawana's 1-0 victory over Ulsan HD in Orlando, Florida in the United States on Wednesday. Rayners walked away with the Player of the Match award thanks to his 36th-minute strike, a toe-poke from close range after he'd been sent sailing by Lucas Ribeiro's sublime through-ball. The duo actually combined two more times in the match for Rayners to score, but both goals were ruled out by VAR. The first was because the ball had made contact with the striker's arm before it went in, and the other one was due to the Capetonian having been offside when the Brazilian made the pass. Not that Rayners was gutted by not having had a World Cup hat-trick. Far from it, for though he'd protested against the initial denial, Rayners was just pleased Sundowns won. 'The important thing was for us to get a win tonight, and that's what matters. I am happy we won the game,' he said during the post-match press conference. 'For me, it was about my team first and the technical team, and then the people behind us (the fans). Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading 𝗡𝗢 𝗗𝗡𝗔, 𝗝𝗨𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗦𝗔 🇿🇦 Congratulations to Masandawana on their first historic #FIFACWC win 🙌 Catch the @FIFACWC | June 14 - July 13 | Every game. Free. | | #FIFACWC #TakeItToTheWorld — DAZN Football (@DAZNFootball) June 18, 2025 'We had a lot of opportunities to kill the game, but I am happy for the victory.' Though he admitted the match was a tight contest, he said nothing about their opponents surprised them – not even the fact that the South Koreans were far less physical than they'd been made out to be. 'The coach spoke to the players about the small details, so we were not surprised about them (Ulsan) because the coach gave us all the details, which were important,' the Bafana striker said. 'He told us how important it is to move the ball quicker; that we must play to our strengths, and for us (strikers) to create the passing lines for the midfielders and the two number 10s. Iqraam Rayners is our first #FIFACWC Superior Player of The Match after scoring the winner in our opening game! 🔥#Sundowns #TakeItToTheWorld #AfricaToTheWorld — Mamelodi Sundowns FC (@Masandawana) June 18, 2025 'It was important for us to know that Themba (Zwane) and Lucas were there (on the pitch).' Coach Miguel Cardoso spoke of Rayners' importance to the team: 'He put the ball inside the net, and it is a moment that when it happens it is the reason for all the excitement. 'He is a player with a wonderful contribution, and he understands very well how to use the spaces that appear on the pitch.' The Portuguese lauded Rayners for his tenacity. 'He did not have an easy season because he had highs and lows. But he finished it well in winning the South African league, and played in the Champions League, and now he's showing it here in the World Cup. 'It's wonderful to have the quality players, and we have a locker-room full of them.' Cardoso says all he and his technical team have to do is arm the players for battle. 'We just need to give them the tools so that they feel free. The players like Iqraam, they are creative players and need to have the proper emotional freedom and a comfort to express the best they can, so that they can give their best for the team.'
Miami Herald
2 days ago
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Club World Cup: Mamelodi Sundowns beat Ulsan for Group F lead
Iqraam Rayners scored in the 36th minute and Ronwen Williams made two saves to guide Mamelodi Sundowns to a 1-0 victory over Ulsan HD at the Club World Cup on Tuesday in Orlando, Fla. A striker for the South African national team, Rayners had a pair of would-be goals disallowed for a handball and an offside call, respectively, before he finally converted the lone goal of the match. Lucas Ribeiro Costa split two defenders with a well-placed lead pass, Rayners collected it at the top of the box and he deposited the ball in the bottom left corner of the goal. Williams protected the thin margin in the 81st minute when he got a mitt on substitute Matias Lacava's shot. The ball was still on a trajectory for the goal, but Sundowns defender Keanu Cupido reached it in the box and made a heroic clearance. The victory gave the side from South Africa (1-0-0, 3 points) an unexpected lead in Group F after Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund drew with Fluminense earlier in the day. Ulsan HD of South Korea finished with a 3-2 advantage in shots on goal. Jo Hyeon-Woo made one save. Field Level Media 2025 - All Rights Reserved
CAF
3 days ago
- Sport
- CAF
Rayners hails collective spirit following Club World Cup breakthrough
Published: Wednesday, 18 June 2025 Iqraam Rayners insisted the collective effort mattered more than his match-deciding strike after guiding Mamelodi Sundowns to a storm-delayed 1-0 victory over Ulsan HD in their FIFA Club World Cup Group F opener. The 29-year-old forward, whose neat 36-minute finish ultimately separated the sides in Orlando on Tuesday night, was named Man of the Match but stressed that personal accolades were secondary to the result. 'I am very happy with the win; we had a great opportunity tonight and we took it,' he told reporters pitch-side. 'Obviously I am very proud and happy with the goal I scored, but it is the win that makes me much happier. We work as a team and that is the most important thing.' Rayners had already seen two efforts rubbed out by VAR—one for handball, another for offside—before latching onto Lucas Ribeiro's reverse pass and steering home with the outside of his right boot. The goal sent Sundowns to the top of the section after Fluminense and Borussia Dortmund had earlier played out a goalless draw. Sundowns endured a 65-minute lightning delay before kick-off at Inter & Co Stadium but emerged sharpest, with captain Themba Zwane and centre-back Keanu Cupido marshalling a disciplined performance that limited the Korean champions to half-chances. Yet it was Rayners who provided the cutting edge and, after receiving his Man-of-the-Match trophy, the former Stellenbosch striker paid tribute to coach Rulani Mokwena's preparation. 'The staff drilled us all week on how Ulsan like to press. When the pass from Lucas came, I knew exactly where the space would be. Credit to everyone—defenders, midfielders, subs—because clean sheets win tournaments.' Sundowns return to Group F action against Fluminense on Saturday knowing another victory would almost guarantee a place in the quarter-finals. For Rayners, however, the focus is already back on collective improvement. 'We're pleased, but it's only step one,' he added. 'We recover, we analyse, and we go again together.'
