Cristiano Ronaldo's hat-trick decides Club World Cup final

A triplet by Cristiano Ronaldo decided the Club World Cup final in extra time, after a 2-2 tie in regular time between Real Madrid and Japanese team Kashima at the International Stadium in Yokohama (4-2).

Real Madrid conquers its second Club World Cup

Real Madrid won its second Club World Cup in the last three years against the big surprise of the tournament, Kashima, which showed the growth of Japanese soccer by coming back with two goals by Shibasaki after an early goal by Karim Benzema, and putting Zinedine Zidane's team in difficulties at times.

Although the Japanese team started well positioned with tight lines, the goal came with Madrid's first shot on target.

Modric controlled a rebound in the penalty area and his shot was repelled by Sogahata at the feet of Benzema, who only had to push it into the net in the 9th minute. The goal did not discourage Kashima, which, encouraged by their tireless fans, reinforced their pressure.

That allowed the whites to have more free areas in the transitions, which led to dangerous situations for the Japanese, especially whenever Modric or Cristiano were involved.

But the "deer" held their own against Madrid and shortly before halftime, Doi sent a ball into the penalty area that Shibasaki picked up to calmly cross it past Keylor Navas.

The surprise did not end there, as in the early stages of the second half, Shibasaki found another ball on the edge of the area and managed to make space to shoot with his left foot and beat a Keylor who misjudged the bounce.

Madrid then tightened its teeth and quickly got its reward when the referee saw a penalty by Shuto on Lucas Vázquez, which Cristiano converted with power, low and to the right of the Japanese goalkeeper.

The whites stretched out more and had more chances, with the clearest one from Benzema, who received the ball exquisitely in the small area and forced Sogahata to make the best save of the night after volleying it from very close.

The Japanese goalkeeper would once again save the day a little later when Cristiano tried his luck after receiving a pass from Benzema.

But even so, Kashima did not give up and tried its luck with a shot from Fabricio that demanded the best from Keylor, who also solved a very dangerous one-on-one from Mu shortly after.

Madrid's heart stopped again when the referee reached for his pocket after seeing an ugly foul by Ramos. However, Sikazwe ultimately spared the white captain a second yellow card.

Then Endo had the Club World Cup in his hands when he found a ball in the small area, but his shot went over the bar, and so the match went into extra time.

In extra time, Cristiano ended Kashima's dream by crossing the ball past the goalkeeper after another deep pass from Benzema.

Even so, the Japanese did not give up and sent a header onto the crossbar through Suzuki shortly before CR7 brought them back to reality by scoring the fourth goal after firing from close range against Sogahata.

The hat-trick from the 2016 Ballon d'Or winner destroyed Kashima's effort and the dream of their fans (who never stopped singing) and ended up giving Madrid - who still had a couple more chances to extend the lead before the final whistle - their second Club World Cup.