Bale's hat-trick beats Antlers

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP):

Gareth Bale put Real Madrid back in the final of the FIFA Club World Cup by scoring a hat trick to lead a comfortable 3-1 win over Japan's Kashima Antlers yesterday.

Madrid had qualified for the tournament between the top teams on each continent in large part thanks to Bale, who scored twice in the 3-1 win over Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League final last May.

Bale scored his first goal against Kashima just before halftime and added two more quickly after the break to decide the match.

"It's an important victory," Bale said. "We knew it would be a difficult game against a team that would make it difficult for us, so we just had to be professionals and get to the final."

Madrid will next play host side Al Ain FC on Saturday, when the European champions will be heavily favoured to claim a fourth club world title.

"I'm happy for the three great goals by Bale, and for the strength and consistency showed by the team," said Madrid manager Santiago Solari.

Solari said that another world title would be "a prize for this team that has given its fans so much and accomplished the feat of winning three straight Champions Leagues. Adding three straight Club World Cups would be fantastic."

Yesterday's game was a rematch of the 2016 final, when Madrid needed extra time to beat Kashima 4-2.