Al Ahly manager Pitso Mosimane has implored his players to deliver a “medal for the continent” after the African champions were beaten in the Fifa Club World Cup semi-final for a second successive year.
The Egyptian giants were defeated 2-0 by 2021 Copa Libertadores winners Palmeiras in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday night. Ahly finished the match with 10 men following defender Ayman Ashraf’s red card nine minutes from time.
While Palmeiras go on to contest Saturday’s final at the Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium against the winner of Wednesday’s semi-final between Chelsea and Al Hial, Ahly will meet the loser of that match in a fight for bronze. That match is also scheduled for Saturday, at Al Nahyan Stadium.
Contesting the Club World Cup for a seventh time, Ahly lost in the semi-finals last year, when they were beaten 2-0 by eventual title winners Bayern Munich. However, they rebounded in Qatar to defeat Palmeiras on penalties in the third-place play-off.
“We have a medal to play for - it’s not all lost,” Mosimane told the media on Tuesday. “We should try and get a medal for the continent. It will be the same if we win. But we have to try more. We will come again next year and try and do better. It’s the way it is, in football as in life, it’s much the same.”
Mosimane pinpointed Ahly’s slow start against Palmeiras as a key contributor in their downfall, saying his team gave their Brazilian counterparts too much respect early in the game.
The South African said also that tiredness played a factor: Ahly had opened their Club World Cup account three days earlier with the 1-0 win against Mexico’s Monterrey. Meanwhile, as South American champions, Palmeiras entered the tournament at the last four.
“We played a good team, with a good level of quality, very strong and professional,” Mosimane said. “They were stronger, fresher. You could see the difference in terms of intensity.
“The difficult thing is we’re playing now the third match and the yellow cards come into play. But when you play the first game and the second game, the opponent has the advantage in the third. It’s a little bit difficult. But it’s the way the tournament is.”
Mosimane added: “Of course, we hoped to be in a better position that we were last year. But we are in the same position at this stage: the semi-final, coincidentally the same score.
“That really means we have to improve – so we haven’t improved in that sense.”
Al Ahly beat Monterrey - in pictures
