Debutant Al Duhail suffers narrow defeat to Egypt's Al Ahly in Round 2 of 2020 FIFA Club World Cup
Despite Al Duhail's impressive performance, the QNB Stars League champions suffered a slim 1-0 defeat to Egypt's Al Ahly in the second round of the FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2020 at the Education City Stadium yesterday.
Midfielder Hussein Elshahat's superb 30th-minute strike proved just enough as the African champions, who are making their sixth appearance at the ultimate club tournament, booked their Monday's semi-final date with European giants Bayern Munich.
Tournament debutant Al Duhail, who wasted many scoring chances in the second half, would now have to fight for a fifth-place finish in their next match against South Korea's Ulsan Hyundai on Sunday. The AFC Champions were beaten 2-1 by CONCACAF representatives Tigres UANL from Mexico earlier.
Playing a 4-3-3 defensive formation, Al Duhail head coach Sabri Lamouchi surprisingly left veteran striker Almoez Ali on the bench but instead fielded new-recruit Kenya's Michael Olunga. In contrast, Ahly's coach Pitso Mosimane maintained his usual 4-2-3-1 formation but opted to field Congo striker Walter Bwalya as his arrowhead in attack instead of either Mohamed Sherif or Marwan Mohsen – a decision which proved worthy in the end.
The hosts started brightly, but Al Ahly got into their rhythm after 10 minutes and began to dominate.
Their reward came on the half-hour mark when Walter Bwalya pressured Bassam Hisham into a defensive mistake. The ball broke to Hussein Elshahat, who arrowed a low drive into the bottom corner from just outside the penalty area.
Bwalya thought he had doubled the lead shortly after breaking the offside trap, but his effort was ruled out for offside.
The Red Knights came back stronger in the second half, but the CAF champions' fine defending saw them holding on for the win.
Almoez Ali was called in to replace Bassam Hisham in the second half to turn the tide, but the 24-year-old striker was left disappointed as he failed to find the back of the net.
"We tried to equalize in the second half after the coaching staff made some changes, but the team did not succeed in scoring despite our clear possession of the ball," said Ali.
"We played at home with our fans, and we could have appeared with a stronger attack and a more controlling way, but we lost. We returned to our true level in the second half, but we failed in finding the equalizer, and I must congratulate Al Ahly and wish them success in their next match."
Al Duhail head coach Sabri Lamouchi lamented on the difference between the two teams' experience but promised his side would be better equipped for the tie against 2020 AFC Champions League winners Ulsan Hyundai.
"It was a great honor for the players and me to participate in the first match in this important tournament," Lamouchi said. "In such matches, the fine details are what makes the difference, but despite the loss, the team gained experience, and we will try to change some things.
"Al Duhail lacked experience, and we could have made the difference with experience, and we will work hard to achieve victory in our next match against Ulsan Hyundai."
Sunday's fixture will see Al Duhail up against Ulsan for the fifth-place finish while Tigres UANL will square up against CONMEBOL champions SE Palmeiras of Brazil in the first semi-final clash. On Monday, Al Ahly will be hoping to see the back of red-hot Bayern Munich at the tournament in their last-four clash.
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