Manchester Metropolis swatted apart Al Ain 6-0 to seal their place within the knockout phases of the Membership World Cup.
Ilkay Gundogan netted twice for Metropolis at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday, with Rayan Cherki serving to himself to his first Metropolis objective.
Gundogan opened the scoring after eight minutes when his cross-shot floated in over Al Ain goalkeeper Khalid Eissa.
Claudio Echeverri doubled Metropolis’s benefit with an excellent free-kick within the twenty seventh minute to mark his first begin in model, earlier than Erling Haaland scored from the penalty spot on the stroke of half-time, with Josko Gvardiol having hit the submit, too.
Gundogan dinked in his second of the sport halfway via the second half, earlier than two substitutes rounded off the scoring for Pep Guardiola’s facet.
Oscar Bobb lower inside from the left to lash house within the 84th minute, with new signing Cherki getting in on the act with a low end.
Metropolis sit second in Group G, which means they have to beat Juventus – who thrashed Wydad AC 4-1 – of their subsequent match with a view to keep away from dealing with the winner of Group H, fairly probably Actual Madrid, within the final 16.
10 – Pep Guardiola’s groups have gained all 10 of their matches on the @FIFACWC (together with earlier codecs), outscoring opponents 33-2 within the course of. Comfy. pic.twitter.com/6KnIkshOtT
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) June 23, 2025
Knowledge Debrief: Pep’s speak works a deal with
After a stuttering efficiency in Metropolis’s 2-0 win over Wydad on matchday one, Guardiola promised that his facet could be higher of their subsequent fixture, and his much-changed workforce duly delivered.
Metropolis peppered Al Ain’s objective, having 21 pictures and getting 11 on the right track, creating probabilities price 3.92 anticipated objectives, albeit that determine is helped by the spot-kick that Al Ain conceded when Ramy Rabia was adjudged to have felled Manuel Akanji following a VAR assessment.
Al Ain managed only one shot on the right track, as Guardiola maintained his 100% successful file on the Membership World Cup (together with the earlier format), stretching that run to 10 video games, together with his groups outscoring their opponents 33-2.
After shedding 5-0 to Juve of their opening recreation, Al Ain have now tied the second-largest margin of defeat in Membership World Cup historical past, which was solely set earlier on matchday two when Benfica hammered Auckland Metropolis 6-0.