FIFA Club World Cup: Egyptian giants Al Ahly win bronze medal
Egypt’s Al Ahly equalled their best-ever finish at the FIFA Club World Cup when they defeated South American champions, Palmeiras, after their third-place play-off ended goalless on Thursday in Qatar.
Egyptian Captain and goalkeeper, Mohamed El Shenawy, was Al Ahly’s hero in the shootout, saving Felipe Melo’s penalty to ensure that the African champions won 3-2 in Qatar.
El Shenawy had earlier saved Rony’s tame effort while Luiz Adriano missed the target, with Ahly also missing through Amr El-Sulaya and Marwan Mohsen.
Junior Ajayi thought he had made the breakthrough in the second half only for his goal to be narrowly ruled out for offside, while El-Sulaya could have done better with a first-half effort dragged wide.
There was no extra-time at the end of the game, meaning the match went straight to penalties.
“From the start of the tournament, we all promised that every player will give his maximum effort in order to achieve a good position,” El Shenawy said after the game.
“Thankfully, all our efforts paid off and we managed to win the bronze medal.”
“We had a great game and we fought very hard to win the bronze medal. Our coaching staff analysed Palmeiras very well. Every player in the team only focuses on doing what is best for the whole team. Everyone fought very hard to win the bronze medal.”
Al Ahly, who performed creditably in their semi-final against Germany’s Bayern Munich to earn widespread praise, enjoyed great support from the stands, thanks to Egypt’s sizeable expatriate community in Qatar.
“The players’ spirit and determination to please our fans are the secrets behind the bronze medal,” added El Shenawy.
The record nine-time African champions’ previous best performance at the Club World Cup came in 2006 when they also finished third.
Al Ahly’s display is Africa’s best at the tournament since 2013 when Morocco’s Raja Casablanca – one of only two teams from the continent to finish runners-up, along with DR Congo’s TP Mazembe in 2010 – reached the final on home soil.
Later in the day, a 59th-minute Benjamin Pavard goal earned dominant FC Bayern München a 1-0 victory over Tigres UANL of Mexico in the final and their second FIFA Club World Cup™ triumph.
It also completed a magnificent outing for the Bavarian behemoths, imitating Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona’s achievement in 2009/10.
(PANA/NAN)
We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.
More from Peoples Gazette
Agriculture
FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology
The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices
Politics
Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku
“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”
Economy
SpaceX shares slide below IPO price for first time
Elon Musk-owned SpaceX’s shares stumbled below their initial public offering (IPO) price for the first time on Wednesday, just over a month after the company went public.
Hot news Home top
Iran puts Trump in coffin on giant billboard
An inscription splashed across the coffin says, “We Will Kill Trump,” in both Persian and English. Another message on the billboard says, “In memory of Minab’s children.”
Economy
Africa risks losing $300 billion blue economy potential, BRACED chair warns
BRACED boss noted that Africa’s blue economy has an estimated annual value of more than $300 billion if properly harnessed.
Sport
Argentina v Spain: Will Messi ‘bathe’ Yamal in 2026 FIFA World Cup final on Sunday?
In 2007, Messi, 20, Barcelona’s budding star, was paired with five-month-old Yamal in a charity calendar photo shoot put together by Barcelona’s foundation.
Education
Lack of practice, mentorship hampering engineering sector’s progress: NBTE
NBTE boss noted that the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and Sokoto-Badagry Super Highway were designed offshore.
Africa
Religion central to West Africa’s stability, military readiness: USAFRICOM
The command chaplain of the United States Africa Command (USAFRICOM), Kevin Forrester, has described spiritual readiness as a foundational pillar of military success.
