African reps Al Ahly crushed out of FIFA Club World Cup after 2-0 loss to Copa Libertadores champions Palmeiras in semifinals
It was the end of the road at the semi-finals stage again for the African champions at the global club competition.
Ten-man Al Ahly failed to reach the Fifa Club World Cup final following Tuesday’s 2-0 defeat against Palmeiras at Al Nahyan Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
Raphael Veiga’s 39th-minute goal gave the Brazilian side a 1-0 first-half lead before he turned provider for Dudu who doubled the South Americans’ advantage four minutes into the second stanza.
The Cairo giants ended the match with a man down after Ayman Ashraf was red-carded with nine minutes remaining.
After a heavily depleted Al Ahly side had knocked out Mexican outfit Monterrey at the second round stage last Saturday, Pitso Mosimane’s men went into the Palmeiras match high on confidence.
But their dreams of a possible meeting with Chelsea crashed on Tuesday.
The Premier League giants play Al Hilal Saudi FC in another semi-final tie on Wednesday.
Missing Bafana Bafana star Percy Tau due to injury, Al Ahly welcomed back into the starting line-up Ashraf and Amr El Soleya who were with Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations finals.
Hamdi Fathi who started for the Pharaohs in Sunday’s final against Senegal came on as a second-half substitute while defender Mohamed Abdelmonem was on the bench, having also been in Cameroon.
They were coming up against a Palmeiras side whose players were last involved in action in domestic football last Wednesday.
As Al Ahly were fighting for a comeback towards the end of the contest, it only got worse for them when Ayman was sent for an early shower.
What is left to play for Al Ahly, is a bronze medal on Saturday against the losers of Wednesday’s encounter.
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