ABU DHABI – African champions Al-Ahly of Egypt finished preparations in readiness for their clash against Copa Libertadores winners Palmeiras of Brazil on Tuesday at 6:30pm Cairo Local Time for a place in the 2021 FIFA Club World Cup final.
Palmeiras, alongside Chelsea, earned a place directly into the last four while Al-Ahly, who is making seventh appearance in the competition, defeated Monterrey 1-0 in Saturday in the second round of the tournament at the Al-Nahyan Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
The 2021 FIFA Club World Cup was originally scheduled to be held in Japan last year but they withdrew due to the Covid-19 situation in the country, with global governing body FIFA awarding hosting rights to the United Arab Emirates.
A wonder goal from Mohamed Hany allowed the Red Devils to beat Mexico’s Monterrey.
The Egyptian giants took the lead in spectacular fashion through wing back Hany in the 53rd minute.
The 26-year-old was the first to pounce on a parry from goalkeeper Esteban Andrada and he fired a fierce shot from the edge of the box that split the Monterrey defence and found the back of the net as the stadium erupted.
The two clubs had also met in the third-place playoff in the 2020 edition where the Egyptian side won on penalties after a goalless draw.
The Mexican side, last season’s CONCACAF Champions League winners coached by former Egypt boss Javier Aguirre, will take on Al-Jazira of the UAE on Wednesday.
Al-Hilal won the Asian Champions League title, while Al-Jazira qualified as winners of the UAE Pro League champions. Al-Jazira beat AS Pirae of Tahiti 4-1 in the opening match of the tournament.
European champions Chelsea enter the competition in the last four, with Al-Hilal their first opponents on Wednesday.
A debut goal from Odion Ighalo helped Al-Hilal come from behind to thrash Al-Jazira 6-1 on Sunday and book a mouth-watering semi-final with Chelsea on Wednesday.
“The kind of players they have and the players they buy. Their budget is maybe ten times ours,” Al-Ahly coach Pitso Mosimane said after Monterrey’s match.
“We played under difficult conditions missing seven starting players. Then we lost two players with injuries. We had to adjust and play Magdy Afsha in midfield with Aliou Dieng instead of his normal position in attack.
“My main analyst, who is the guy who dissects the teams we play against, was down with Covid and I was down with Covid too. But football is beautiful,” Mosimane added.
Chelsea to play Al-Hilal in semis
Chelsea will face Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia in the Club World Cup semi-finals after the Asian Champions League winners came from behind to rout Al Jazira 6-1 on Sunday.
Abdoulay Diaby struck first for UAE Pro League champions Al-Jazira, but Al-Hilal responded with two goals before half-time from former Manchester United striker Odion Ighalo and Matheus Pereira.
Mohamed Kanno headed in a corner to increase Al Hilal’s lead on 57 minutes and Salem Al Dawsari added a fourth with a composed finish at Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium.
Moussa Marega and Andre Carrillo completed a thumping win with late goals for Leonardo Jardim’s side, the record four-time Asian champions and 17-time Saudi league winners.
Al-Hilal will take on European champions Chelsea at the same ground on Wednesday for a place in the February 12 final.
Bayern Munich won the most recent edition of the Club World Cup, which features the champions of the six continental confederations along with the top team in the host nation.
The last eight winners of the tournament have come from Europe.
Chelsea defender Reece James will miss his side’s Club World Cup campaign because he has not recovered from his “big” hamstring injury, manager Thomas Tuchel confirmed.
The England international has been out of action since suffering the injury in Chelsea’s 1-1 Premier League draw with Brighton at Stamford Bridge on December 29.
“Reece is not in team training yet, so he’s not available this week,” said Tuchel according to AFP.
The Chelsea boss said he was too experienced to get “over-excited” by putting a date on when a player would return.
“The diagnosis was straight away that it’s a big injury, and from there we need to be patient,” said Tuchel. “It’s a hamstring, it’s always tricky and he’s a very physical player.
“And unfortunately he then caught the flu and that was a setback in the last few days of his process in coming back to the team.”
Ruben Loftus-Cheek will also miss the match due to a knock, while Christian Pulisic and Thiago Silva are unavailable after international duty.
Chelsea was unable to bring in wing-back cover in the January transfer window after Ben Chilwell’s season-ending knee injury and James’ continued hamstring trouble.
Versatile Brazilian Kenedy has been recalled from a loan spell at Flamengo after Chelsea was unable to bring Emerson Palmieri back from loan at Lyon.
Tuchel said he harbours no frustrations over the lack of success in the transfer window, remaining confident that Chelsea can cope with their current resources.
Asked about the issue, Tuchel said: “No, no frustration, because I was also calm and there was no frustration because I know what kind of quality we would need to add to a very strong and a good group.
“It’s also my job to find solutions when we have injuries. We tried and had ideas, but in the end we stick to what we have and we are happy with it.
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