Zinedine Zidane saw his Real Madrid outfit secure a 2-0 comfortable victory against Club America in the semi-final of the FIFA Club World Cup.

Real Madrid have entered into the competition as a representative from Europe after having won the Champions League last season. It was the first major honour for Zidane as the manager of the club after having taken over from Rafa Benitez midway through the campaign. There is no greater success in club football than lifting the FIFA Club World Cup and Zidane is now one step closer towards this achievement after reaching the final.

Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo scored the goals that were enough to see off the Mexican opponents. A first-half injury time goal from Benzema was a major factor in relieving the pressure off Real Madrid in the second half. The Spanish club were able to double their advantage in the second half through Ronaldo and this goal also made the game safe.

Ronaldo was recently named as the Ballon d’Or award winner for 2016 by beating Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann. He will now look to add to the Champions League and the Euro 2016 titles collected in this calendar year by winning the FIFA Club World Cup.

Japanese side Kashima Antlers are the next opponents for Real Madrid. “We got what we came for – a place in the final. It has been difficult, but now we move onto the final.The first part of the match was a bit complicated with the tempo. The field was hard and the ball did not pass well, so we had some difficulty.The second half was much better, with chances for us. However, we had to kill the game and did it in the end with Cristiano Ronaldo. We struggled coming into the game with the change in time zones and also travelling from afar,” said Zidane.