Heartbreak for America’s Seattle Sounders, who are debuting in their FIFA men’s Club World Cup
Saturday night’s fixture witnessed a heartbreaking late concession for Seattle Sounders and Morocco’s CAF Champions League winners Wydad Casablanca as both teams were eliminated in the FIFA Club World Cup.
Held in Ibn Batouta Stadium, America’s Seattle faced off against African regulars Al Ahly in their second-round tie delivering fans a knee-jerking match.
Both teams played a competitive match. The Sounders held a tough defence and ushered a strong attack against the Egyptian powerhouse squad.
However, despite completing 12 shots to the Al Ahly box, the Americans failed to get a goal into the net.
Al Ahly midfielder Mohamed Afsha ultimately broke the scoreless deadlock in the 88th minute to nail a shot outside the box to avoid extra time.
A disjointed one for the MLS team, the Seattle Sounders entered the tournament during their preseason, leaving them taunted by the Egyptians, who are undefeated through 15 games of their Egyptian Premier League campaign.
The knockout rounds edge Al Ahly to face off against favourites Real Madrid for their third straight semifinals at the Club World Cup.
Morocco out
The tournament hosts were eliminated 5-3 on penalties by Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal, champs of the 2021 AFC Champions League.
In a tense battle, 19-year-old Musab al-Juwayr made the clutch shot for his side after Yahya Attiat-Allah’s miss for the Moroccans during the penalties.
Ayoub El Amloud opened the score for WAC in the 52nd minute before Mohamed Kenno equalised for Al-Hilal on a penalty 93rd.
The draw introduced the late-game penalty, which was eventually ruled out in favour of the Saudis.
Expected to be a challenging game, Al Hilal dominated the match with 65% possession while shooting 15 shots against the Arab Africans.
Tensions fuelled the game leading to red cards for Saudi’s Mohamed Kanno and Yahya Jabrane.
In the semi-final, Al-Hilal will cross paths with the Brazilians of CR Flamengo this upcoming Tuesday.
