Egyptian right-back Mohamed Hany says Al Ahly’s attention is now on finishing third in the 2022 FIFA Club World Cup following their 4-1 lost to Real Madrid in the semi-finals on Wednesday.
The 10-time CAF Champions League winners had defeated Auckland City and Seattle Sounders to reach their third consecutive Club World Cup semi-final and fifth overall.
They were however denied a chance at making it to their first-ever final with Vinicius Junior, Federico Valverde, Rodrygo and Sergio Arribas all netting for the Spanish giants in between Ali Maaloul’s 65th minute penalty.
Al Ahly will now take on Flamengo in the third/fourth place playoff on Saturday, hoping to win it for the third consecutive time.
“The result is not the best. We were hoping to beat Real Madrid and reach our first-ever final in the FIFA Club World Cup,” Hany said as per Kingfut.
“Everyone did their best. We fought till the end, but unfortunately, the result was not what we were hoping for.
“We have to close Real Madrid’s page and start focusing on the next game in order to win the bronze medal as we did in the last two editions.”
Heading back to Tangier for the 3rd place match 🦅#ClubWC#YallaYaAhly pic.twitter.com/axFdcHVZTt
— Al Ahly SC 🇬🇧 (@AlAhlyEnglish) February 9, 2023
Al Ahly coach Marcel Killer was left frustrated by his team’s errors which gifted Madrid the chance to capitalise and asserted there is much work to be done with the 42-time Egyptian Premier League champions.
“We played very well in the first half, but we didn’t take our chances,” Koller stated.
“The problem is that we also conceded the second goal very early after the break. We simply couldn’t recover after it.
“When we started going forward, we left huge defensive gaps, and Real Madrid were very quick on the counter and that’s why they scored two more in stoppage time.
“Losing always frustrates me, especially since there were a lot of unforced errors in the first half. I’ve been here at the club for only five months, and there is still work to be done.”
The final of the Club World Cup will be contested between Real Madrid and Saudi Arabian outfit Al Hilal at Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in the Moroccan capital, Rabat.
