Wessam Abou Ali, Emam Ashour and Mohamed Afsha earned Al Ahly a 3-0 win over Al Ain in the FIFA African-Asian-Pacific Cup.
Ahly sunk Al Ain 3-0 in the FIFA African-Asian-Pacific Cup to move one step away from a FIFA Intercontinental Cup™ final against Real Madrid.
Marcel Koller’s team will now move into the FIFA Challenger Cup, in which they will play Pachuca or the CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores winners, at Stadium 974 in Doha on 14 December. The victors will take on Madrid at Lusail Stadium four days later for the right to be crowned world champions.
Ahly dominated from the outset at Cairo International Stadium and went ahead after 32 minutes. Yahia Nader casually attempted to play the ball back to his goalkeeper, without noticing the lurking Wessam Abou Ali, who stabbed it past Khalid Eisa. Emam Ashour employed exquisite technique to volley home the second after the break.
Hernan Crespo reacted by sending on Matias Segovia. Despite the best efforts of the 21-year-old Paraguayan, Ain struggled to create any meaningful chances against a defence marshalled masterfully by Rami Rabia, and they were hit on the break late on. Omar Kamal burst into the Emiratis’ box and was felled, and Mohamed Afsha slammed home the resulting penalty. Ahly’s FIFA Intercontinental Cup dream remains alive.
“We’re filled with an amazing feeling,” said Ahly midfielder Marwan Attia. “Al Ain are a great team. The players were fully focused, and we played as a united team with one heart. Congratulations to our fans who gave outstanding support today.
“I hope this time we’ll reach the Intercontinental Cup final. Al Ahly can achieve anything, our players are capable of pulling it off. Al Ahly is accustomed to competing in major tournaments – that’s who we are, that’s our character. Facing Real Madrid is certainly motivation for us as they’re the biggest club in the world. God willing, we’ll be able to face them in the final.”
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