Johannesburg – African champions Al Ahly’s weakened side reached the semi-finals of the Fifa Club World Cup following a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Mexican side FC Monterrey at Al Nahyan Stadium, in Abu Dhabi, the UAE capital on Saturday night.
SA coach Pitso Mosimane’s side fired the winning goal in the 53rd minute with Mohamed Hany’s superb strike that secured the Reds Devils a spot in the Fifa Club World Cup semis.
The Egyptian CAF Champions League champions were missing six of their players currently in the Egyptian team set to meet Senegal in the African Cup of Nations final in Yaounde, Cameroon on Sunday night.
Hany scored from a fierce shot at the edge of the box after splitting the Monterrey defence, thereafter the crowds on the stands erupted in celebration.
Speaking post the match, man of the moment Al Ahly’s goalkeeper Ali Lofty said his team’s victory has kindled their hopes of going all the way to the final and lifting the trophy.
“Today’s victory is a very important step for us, we are very concentrated and committed to achieving a medal in the tournament,” said Lofty.
“This performance is the result of our hard work in training. It showed how responsible we are as a team and how dedicated we are to deliver the victory.
“Finally, I would like to thank our fans for their constant support throughout the game. We will do our best to make them happy in the future,” he further added.
With this clinical win, the Egyptian side will now go head-to-head with the Brazilian giants Palmeiras in the highly-anticipated contest, whereby the winner will qualify to play the final match.
It will not be for the first time for these two teams to go head-to-head as they last met two years ago in the same competition, where the Red Devils bagged the bronze medal in the 2020 FIFA Club World Cup, after thrashing Palmeiras on penalties in the third-place playoff.
Mosimane’s side will probably be praying that history does not repeat itself when they face the Brazilian champions.
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