Boca Book Their Place in World Club Championship Final

Boca Juniors secured their place in the final of the World Cup Championship by defeating Etoile of Tunisia 1-0 in a closely fought game in Tokyo.

Neri Cardozo proved to be the difference between the teams, dispatching from close range from Rodrigo Palacio's pass in the 37th minute.

Both sides had plenty of chances throughout, with Palacio himself going close for Boca and Etoile forcing a few good saves from Mauricio Caranta. Gilson Silva struck the post for Etoile in the final minute of the game.

Boca midfielder Fabian Vargas will miss the final on Sunday after he was sent off in the second half for two bookable offences.

AC Milan and Urawa Red Diamonds face off in today's other semi-final, with the winners to face Boca in Sunday's final.

Argentine Media Goes Japan Crazy as Boca Face Etoile In World Club Cup

Argentine sports paper Ole are turning Japanese today to mark Boca Juniors' World Club Championship semi-final against Etoile of Tunisia in Tokyo, by writing all of their main headlines in Japanese (see picture).

The expectation in the worldwide media is that a Boca versus AC Milan final is a certainty, but Boca will have to be wary of their Tunisian opponents today. Etoile performed impressively against Pachuca, soaking up a lot of pressure before scoring on the counter attack five minutes from time and should not be discounted.

Juan Riquelme has been training with the Boca squad in Tokyo, but is ineligible to play during the competition and is only there to lend his moral support to the cause. Ever Banega is expected to take up his playmaker role today.

The full expected lineups are as follows:

Boca: Caranta; Ibarra, Maidana, Paletta, Morel Rodríguez; Battaglia, Vargas, Banega, Cardozo; Palacio and Palermo.

Etoile: Balbouli; Frej, Ghezal, Falhi, Bejaoui; Ogunbiyi, Narry, Ali Nafkha, Gharbi; Chermiti and Dhifallah.

The game kicks off at 7:30pm local time, which is 10:30am in the UK; 5:30am US Eastern; and 2:30am US Western.

Pachuca Lose in Club World Cup

CF Pachuca of Mexico fell at the first hurdle in Japan, going down 1-0 to Tunisian side Etoile Sportive Du Sahel in the quarter final of the Club World Cup 2007.

Pachuca dominated for large periods of the game in Tokyo, but were unable to capitalize on their advantage with efforts from Damian Alvarez, Juan Carlos Cacho and Gabriel Cabellero all going close in the first-half and a goal disallowed early in the second half.

The Mexicans were made to pay for not hammering home their advantage five minutes from time when Moussa Narry's deflected 35 yard strike slipped past Miguel Calero in the Pachuca goal. Etoile held on for the remaining five minutes to book their place in the semi-final.

Etoile's next opponents will now be Copa Libertadores winners Boca Juniors on the 12th December.