BEVERLY HILLS, February 06, (THEWILL) – Africa’s representation in the ongoing FIFA Club World Cup, Al Ahly, clashed with Qatar Stars League’s Al Duhail SC on Thursday. The Egyptian Football giants took the upper hand when Hussein Elshahat’s superb, half hour strike beat the defense and the keeper to nestle in the bottom right of the Qatari net.
The Al Duhail side began as the more pressing team of the pair, but the African champions got into their rhythm inside of the first ten minutes and began to dictate the pace of the game. The Egyptian forwards tirelessly probed the opposition’s defense seeking a path through. Their reward came on the half hour mark.
Congolese forward Walter Bwalya pressured Qatari defender Bassam Hisham into a defensive error. Hussein Elshahat came into possession of the loose ball and let fly from distance into the bottom corner. The same striker very nearly made it a brace shortly later after he sprang the offside trap, but his effort was ruled out for offside by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR).
An equaliser appeared to be on the cards for Al Duhail just after the hour mark. Belgian winger Edmilson Junior broke free down the left and pulled in an inviting cross that his teammate and Al Duhail Kenyan striker Michael Olunga interpreted well and reacted the fastest to. However, Al Ahly keeper Mohamed Elshenawy’s handling kept the lead for the Egyptians.
Al Duhail did not let up. They continued to seek an equaliser, committing men forward to find incursions into the danger area but the Egyptians stubbornly held on to their lead until the final whistle to the exhilaration of players and staff of the African football powerhouse.
The 30th-minute goal proved enough for Al Ahly to carry the day and, by implication, secure a FIFA Club World Cup semi-final berth against UEFA Champions and Bavarian juggernauts FC Bayern Munich from the Bundesliga in Germany.
As reported by THEWILL, Bayern’s coach Hans-Dieter Flick named a strong squad to prosecute their participation in the Club World Cup with FIFA’s Best Men’s Player Robert Lewandowski included, which clearly shows how serious they are about nothing less than claiming the Cup to add to the plethora of trophies they have already amassed.
The Bundesliga leaders who beat Hertha Berlin SC by a lone goal away from home in Friday evening’s round 20 tie at the Olympiastadion Berlin to maintain their comfortable 10-point lead at the summit of the German top flight, will later catch a flight to Qatar where the African champions await for the semi-final showdown.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
