African stars savour goals on the global stage

• African strikers scored two of three goals in Washington, DC
• Mailula, Lorch hail the importance of Sundowns' performances
• African players say they will learn from amazing tournament experience

While the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™ has been a tough outing for African clubs — all four are exiting after the group stage — the tournament has provided space for players from the Mother Continent to shine. South African Cassius Mailula and Togolese striker Kodjo Laba, for example, both scored in Al Ain's 2-1 defeat of Wydad AC in Washington, DC.

Mailula opened the scoring for Wydad within five minutes, hitting a right-footed rocket into the upper corner.

"It's amazing as a South African to score on such a stage," Mailula told FIFA after the match. "It means a lot to me. I'm very happy to have scored. It also gives me confidence that it's possible and it doesn't matter who you're playing against. It's a lesson for me to continue doing well, to prepare myself for the new season, and to take lessons from this tournament. It's been a great experience."

Wydad will be going home with three defeats, a disappointing end for the Moroccan giants. But they depart the US with their players having left their mark on the competition.

Mailula's compatriot Thembinkosi Lorch was the Moroccans' other scorer at the Club World Cup, having found the net against Juventus FC in their second match.

Speaking to FIFA after the Al Ain match, Lorch reflected on the significance of his and countrymen's contributions during the tournament. "We have talent in South Africa. If you saw the Sundowns games, we have talent - we just need to show it more. We need to show the world that we have good players in South Africa."

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South Africa's talent was matched by Togo's in the Al Ain-Wydad game, with Kodjo Laba - who scored one goal and helped lay on another - the difference-maker for Al Ain.

Laba, who was voted the Michelob Ultra Superior Man of the Match for his goal and dominating centre-forward play, celebrated in style with a unique dance.

"The celebration is a traditional dance from my country, specifically my village, Abaja. So when I score, I want to show the world we have this dance."

The Togo native was thrilled to have scored and secured three points, but he felt the entire tournament was a positive for African teams and players, offering them the chance to demonstrate their talent on the global stage.

"I think African football is growing up very well," he told FIFA. "I played three years in Morocco and today I can see how much the level has improved. I hope they grow more and more. I'm very happy for all the African teams and players. We will continue to show that we have football in Africa too."

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Africa's best performers in the Club World Cup were Mamelodi Sundowns. The South African champions attacked with real verve, which won them plaudits if not enough points to remain in the competition.

"They had a great tournament. It shows that football in South Africa is improving," said Mailula.

On the eve of boarding his plane home, Laba was anything but negative, reflecting on the lessons the tournament brought him. "Like my father always said, even when you lose, you never lose," he told FIFA. "In life you learn something when you lose, about your mistakes and you must fix them.

"In the games against Juventus and Manchester city, we saw the level and will work more to get the conditions to be a top-top team. We will train, we will fight and follow the instructions of our coaches to improve."