Match is in the penultimate round. Will truck last? (9)
I believe the answer is:
semifinal
'match' is the definition.
(I know that semifinal is a type of match)
'will truck last?' is the wordplay.
'will' means one lot of letters go next to another (I've seen this in other clues).
'truck' becomes 'semi' (semi is a kind of truck).
'last?' becomes 'final' ('final' can be a synonym of 'last').
'semi' put next to 'final' is 'SEMIFINAL'.
'is in the penultimate round' is the link.
This may not be correct. Some or all of it may be part of another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for semifinal that I've seen before include "Tie" , "Penultimate cup game" , "big game" , "late stage in contest" , "Round with four contestants" .)