Sergio Ramos Still Soars in California

Many had already considered him a golden retiree, but at 39, Sergio Ramos continues to soar. Last night, the Sevillian rose to the skies of California, scored the trademark header goal, and led an inferior team that stood up to a European runner-up, securing a valuable draw in the first match of the Club World Cup.

The former Real Madrid player scored the first goal of the match at 25 minutes, following a well-executed corner by Óliver Torres, another familiar face to Spanish fans. The Italians equalised just before halftime with a right-footed goal from Argentine star Lautaro Martínez. Without a doubt, it was the best match for Monterrey, the Mexican team managed by Spaniard Domenec Torrent.

After the Aztecs' debut in this World Cup, Ramos appeared before the press, expressing his happiness like a child with new shoes. "On a personal level, it's a tremendous joy to contribute, but the individual award holds less significance. The collective is the priority," said Ramos, who was named the best player of the match.

"The goal was a set piece; I needed my teammate's block to head with an advantage, and the execution went well; I hope it's not the last of the tournament," stated the defender, a world champion with the Spanish national team in the historic South Africa 2020 tournament.

For Ramos, the most notable aspect of the duel was Monterrey's ability to stand up and play fearlessly against Inter Milan. The Andalusian considered the draw fair: "They had clear chances in the first half; we had ours in the second. Playing toe-to-toe with Inter says a lot about Monterrey and the intention with which we came to the tournament," he asserted.

Although Monterrey secured a hopeful point for the round of 16 qualification, Sergio Ramos admitted they made mistakes and must work to correct them to achieve even greater performance in the decisive match on Saturday against Argentina's River Plate.

"We did many things well and failed in many. We must analyse those mistakes and improve because the challenge with River will be high," concluded the tireless Ramos, referring to a historic rival that began its journey with a relatively comfortable 3-1 victory over Japan's Urawa Red Diamonds.

The match between River and Urawa was followed with great interest by Spanish fans, especially Real Madrid supporters, who had not yet seen Franco Mastantuono play, the 17-year-old teenager everyone is raving about, who has captivated Xabi Alonso since he spoke with him to convince him to sign for Real Madrid and was surprised by his great maturity.

Mastantuono did not score, although he did participate in the play of the first goal, and his performance was correct but not overly brilliant. He showed glimpses of his undeniable class, but not enough to make headlines. He passed but it remains to be seen if he will land at Real Madrid as a starter or, as Carlo Ancelotti said about Turkish Arda Güler, he will be another young player who will have to complete a learning phase on the bench.

The diamond from Azul, in the Buenos Aires province, went from more to less and did not captivate his coach, Muñeco Gallardo, who criticised that his signing for Real Madrid compromises Mastantuono's performance in this Club World Cup. Franco played on the right wing, cutting inside to influence dangerous areas. His statistics are modest. He completed 27 of the 31 passes he attempted, succeeded in four of the eight dribbles he tried, won ten of the 18 duels he was involved in, and received five fouls. It is surprising that he only managed two shots, one on target, despite this being his strong point. The worst part is that he lost possession 14 times.