Al-Ahly, the holder of the African Champions League title last season, will meet its Mexican counterpart, Monterrey, the CONCACAF champion, on Saturday evening, in the quarter-finals of the Club World Cup at the Al Nahyan Stadium in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
The language of numbers
The upcoming confrontation between Al-Ahly of Egypt and Monterrey of Mexico bears a historical character, as the two teams have met twice before in the Club World Cup, as the African champions participate in the World Cup for the seventh time in the history of the “Red Genie”, compared to five participations for the CONCACAF champion.
The first confrontation between Al-Ahly of Egypt and Monterrey of Mexico came in the match to determine the third and fourth place, during the FIFA Club World Cup “Japan 2012” and ended with the victory of the CONCACAF champion with two clean goals.
Historic quintet
The second confrontation between the two teams bore a bad memory for Al-Ahly of Egypt, who received a five-to-one loss, in the match to determine the fifth and sixth place in the 2013 FIFA Club World Cup, which was held in Morocco.
Al-Ahly’s defeat from Monterrey, Mexico, in the 2013 World Cup is the biggest loss for the Egyptian team in the Club World Cup over the six participations of the Red Genie in the World Championship.
bad luck
Al-Ahly faces misfortune during Saturday’s confrontation with Mexico’s Monterrey, as the African Champions League holder loses 14 players at once during his participation in the current edition of the Club World Cup due to injury and the participation of 5 players from the ranks of the red genie with the Egyptian team in the African Nations Cup currently held in Cameroon .
Badr Banoon, Akram Tawfiq, Ammar Hamdi, Salah Mohsen and Mahmoud Metwally are absent from the Cairo club in the face of Al-Ahly against Monterrey of Mexico due to injury, while the red genie loses, Muhammad Mahmoud, Hossam Hassan and Percy Tao due to muscle injuries, in addition to Ahmed Nabil Koca, due to infection with the Corona virus.
Al-Ahly also loses the efforts of the international quintet participating with the Pharaohs team in the African Cup of Nations in Cameroon, and they are Muhammad Al-Shennawi, Ayman Ashraf, Hamdi Fathi, Amr Al-Sulayya and Muhammad Sharif.
Bilal Al-Sisi, sports critic, comments in exclusive statements to “Sky News Arabia” about Al-Ahly and Monterrey of Mexico in the quarter-finals of the Club World Cup, saying, “The match will be very difficult in light of Al-Ahly’s many absences, but I think that the absence of this group of players is a great opportunity for the list participating in the tournament.” tournament to express themselves.
Regarding the impact of Al-Ahly’s absences, Al-Sisi explains, “Absences will certainly affect the Al-Ahly team during the Club World Cup, but the group of players on the team’s list has the experience and the ability to provide what suits the name of Al-Ahly club during the global forum.”
untie the knot
And about the possibility of the impact of Al-Ahly’s historical loss with five from Monterrey, Mexico, on the two teams’ confrontation on Saturday evening, the sports critic continues, “The generation that lost five in 2013 changed the current generation, certainly the big losses will remain in our minds, but in the end we are talking about the present and not the past.”
And about breaking the Mexican knot, Bilal Al-Sisi continues, “Everything is contained in football, but Al-Ahly’s chances are very difficult during the activities of that tournament in light of the absences that the team suffers from, but in the end, Al-Ahly with those who attended.”
The sports critic concludes his speech to “Sky News Arabia”, explaining Al-Ahly’s chances
In overcoming the obstacle of the Mexican Monterrey in the quarter-finals of the Club World Cup, he said, “Al-Ahly’s victory over Monterrey is important because it is football, but theoretically I think that achieving victory will be difficult in light of the preparedness of the Mexican team more than Al-Ahly.”
