Al Ahly take chance on injury-plagued Real
What you need to know:
For Real, a return to form is key and a record fifth Fifa Club World Cup title will be on cards should they reach Saturday’s final but for Egyptian side Al Ahly, it could be their biggest match in history
FIFA CLUB WORLD CUP 2022
SEMIFINAL LINE-UP (10PM EAT)
Today: Al Ahly (EGY) vs. Real Madrid (ESP)
CASABLANCA, MOROCCO. The first-ever meeting between Africa’s most successful club Al Ahly and European kings Real Madrid carries a lot of meaning for both when they walk out of the tunnel at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Moroccan capital Rabat tonight.
For Real, a return to form is key and a record fifth Fifa Club World Cup title will be on cards should they reach Saturday’s final but for Egyptian side Al Ahly, it could be their biggest match in history.
The Cairo-based club has won almost every piece of silverware on offer except this one. And stopping in the semi-finals twice in the last two editions, they will desire to go one ahead at the clubs’ most elite showpiece in the world.
Al Ahly has already seen off Auckland City of New Zealand 3-0 and then beat American side Seattle Sounders 1-0 in the round two fixture on Saturday.
And they’ll be sure of back-up from a crowd gathered from Rabat and 70km away from the country’s biggest city Casablanca when they take on Carlo Ancelotti’s men tonight.
“It will be a dream match,” said Al Ahly’s midfielder Aliou Dieng following the win over Sounders in Tangier. “We are going to enjoy the top level. We’ll see what happens. We have no pressure. We’ll play the game the way we have to,” the Malian added.
While Al Ahly are the most capped side in this tournament with 20 matches, the titles have gone to Real. They have lifted it four times in 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018.
Italian Ancelotti has won it twice, in 2007 with AC Milan and in 2014. The 35-time Spanish champions Real arrived in Rabat on Monday night on the back of a 1-0 loss to Mallorca which has left them eight points behind La Liga leaders Barcelona.
Hence the short trip to Morocco, who are bidding to host both the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) and 2030 Fifa World Cup tournaments, implies a search for a bounce-back for the Spanish capital giants.
The Real camp is not only struggling with form, after dropping points in three of their last five league outings but, their striker Karim Benzema and Eder Militao have hamstring and groin problems respectively and may need a late test.
First-choice goalkeeper Thibaurt Courtois suffered a muscular problem before the Mallorca fixture which means Andriy Lunin will start in between the sticks.
As Real restructure, Al Ahly on the other end have had a water-tight backline, conceding just once in eight outings this year. It means the likes of Federico Valverde, Rodrygo and Vinicius Jr got some work to do.
For Ahly under Marcel Koller could trust Ahmed Abdel Kader, Hussein El Shahat and Mohamed Sherif to pile more misery on the Real party.
REAL MADRID VS. AL AHLY
RECORD LEAGUE TITLES
Real Madrid: 35
Al Ahly: 42
RECORD CHAMPIONS LEAGUE TITLES
Real Madrid: 14
Al Ahly: 10
RECORD CONTINENTAL SUPER CUP TITLES
Real Madrid: 5
Al Ahly: 8