Al Ahly centre-back Ramy Rabia believes his side can take inspiration from the Egyptian national team’s performance to reach the African Cup of Nations final.
The team meet Mexico’s Monterrey on match day two of the Fifa Club World Cup at Al Nahyan stadium in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.
“We watched our national team’s victory over Cameroon in the semi-finals and that has given every player in our squad a shot in the arm ahead of our opening match in the Club World Cup,” Rabia said at the prematch conference on Friday.
“Not only that, Ahly enter every competition with the objective of winning, and we want to be in the final of this championship. Of course every game is tough at this level but we are confident.”
Ahly has six of their players on national duty at the African Cup of Nations but Rabia insisted that doesn’t make their team any weaker, even though they will miss their services in Abu Dhabi.
“Obviously it’s the best players that get picked for the national team and we certainly are going to feel their absence, but having said that, we will deploy all our efforts to win all our matches in this competition,” Rabia said.
Samy Elsoudany, assistant to Ahly’s Cameroonian manager Pitso Mosimane, who is expected to be back on match day after recovering from Covid-19, said that aside from the players on national duty, they also had a few injury concerns.
“We have travelled with a few injured players but at Ahly, we have faith on the entire squad even as some of them are playing in this competition for the first time,” Elsoudany said.
“We have some experienced players to make up for the absence of those on national duty as well as those injured players, and we are very hopeful of progressing to the next round.”
Monterrey manager Javier Aguirre is expecting a tough match despite the absence of key players and injuries in the Egyptian camp.
“We are aware we face a very hard game but we are very excited to play in this competition,” said Aguirre, who managed Abu Dhabi Club Al Wahda for two seasons from 2015 to 2017.
“Ahly are a good side even though they will not have the services of some of their players but that doesn’t make them any weaker.
“They have an abundance of talent in their squad and the club is also the backbone of supplying a steady flow of players to the national team. We are expecting a tough opponent tomorrow.
Aguirre is “happy to represent Mexico and CONCACAF” in the competition and believes it to be 11 against 11 on the pitch.
Ahly are making their seventh appearance at the Club World Cup while it’s the fifth for Monterrey.
“We want to put up a good performance and showcase Mexico football and Monterrey on the world stage,” the Mexican club’s Argentine midfielder Matias Kranevitter said.
“We know of the skills and the talent we have in the squad. This is a great opportunity for us. Hopefully, we can kick-off our campaign with a great start.”
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
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Omar Yabroudi's factfile
Born: October 20, 1989, Sharjah
Education: Bachelor of Science and Football, Liverpool John Moores University
2010: Accrington Stanley FC, internship
2010-2012: Crystal Palace, performance analyst with U-18 academy
2012-2015: Barnet FC, first-team performance analyst/head of recruitment
2015-2017: Nottingham Forest, head of recruitment
2018-present: Crystal Palace, player recruitment manager
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
SNAPSHOT
While Huawei did launch the first smartphone with a 50MP image sensor in its P40 series in 2020, Oppo in 2014 introduced the Find 7, which was capable of taking 50MP images: this was done using a combination of a 13MP sensor and software that resulted in shots seemingly taken from a 50MP camera.
Test squad: Azhar Ali (captain), Abid Ali, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Imam-ul-Haq, Imran Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Kashif Bhatti, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Rizwan(wicketkeeper), Musa Khan, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Shan Masood, Yasir Shah
Twenty20 squad: Babar Azam (captain), Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Musa Khan, Shadab Khan, Usman Qadir, Wahab Riaz
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US%20federal%20gun%20reform%20since%20Sandy%20Hook
%3Cp%3E-%20April%2017%2C%202013%3A%20A%20bipartisan-drafted%20bill%20to%20expand%20background%20checks%20and%20ban%20assault%20weapons%20fails%20in%20the%20Senate.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E-%20July%202015%3A%20Bill%20to%20require%20background%20checks%20for%20all%20gun%20sales%20is%20introduced%20in%20House%20of%20Representatives.%20It%20is%20not%20brought%20to%20a%20vote.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E-%20June%2012%2C%202016%3A%20Orlando%20shooting.%20Barack%20Obama%20calls%20on%20Congress%20to%20renew%20law%20prohibiting%20sale%20of%20assault-style%20weapons%20and%20high-capacity%20magazines.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E-%20October%201%2C%202017%3A%20Las%20Vegas%20shooting.%20US%20lawmakers%20call%20for%20banning%20bump-fire%20stocks%2C%20and%20some%20renew%20call%20for%20assault%20weapons%20ban.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E-%20February%2014%2C%202018%3A%20Seventeen%20pupils%20are%20killed%20and%2017%20are%20wounded%20during%20a%20mass%20shooting%20in%20Parkland%2C%20Florida.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E-%20December%2018%2C%202018%3A%20Donald%20Trump%20announces%20a%20ban%20on%20bump-fire%20stocks.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E-%20August%202019%3A%20US%20House%20passes%20law%20expanding%20background%20checks.%20It%20is%20not%20brought%20to%20a%20vote%20in%20the%20Senate.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E-%20April%2011%2C%202022%3A%20Joe%20Biden%20announces%20measures%20to%20crack%20down%20on%20hard-to-trace%20'ghost%20guns'.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E-%20May%2024%2C%202022%3A%20Nineteen%20children%20and%20two%20teachers%20are%20killed%20at%20an%20elementary%20school%20in%20Uvalde%2C%20Texas.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E-%20June%2025%2C%202022%3A%20Joe%20Biden%20signs%20into%20law%20the%20first%20federal%20gun-control%20bill%20in%20decades.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets