Club World Cup Final Four
2/7/2023 12:42:43 PM
The Club World Cup held in Morocco ended with two matches in the second round. Cairo National Team of Egypt and Riyadh Crescent Team of Saudi Arabia respectively defeated their opponents and advanced to the semi-finals of this tournament.
The Cairo nationals from Egypt are a traditional strong team in African football and the runner-up of the African Football Champions League last season. They beat Oceania champions and New Zealand team Auckland City with three goals in the first round.
The opponent in the second round is the Seattle Sounders from the United States, who were the champions of the CONCACAF Champions League last season. The stalemate of the game was not broken until near the end. In the 89th minute, Cairo national player Afsha's long-range shot from outside the penalty area hit the defender and then changed into the net. The Egyptian team finally won 1-0.
After two consecutive victories in the Club World Cup, the Cairo Nationals have the opportunity to challenge the Champions League champions Real Madrid in the next round. Real Madrid will rush to Morocco to participate in the Club World Cup after completing the 20th round of La Liga with Mallorca later. The semi-final will start on February 8.
In the other half, host team Sablanca Vidade, winner of last season's African Football Champions League, competed with last season's AFC Champions League champions, Saudi side Riyadh Crescent, for a semi-final spot. The two teams had no achievements in the first half. In the 52nd minute, Amlud's header scored to help the Moroccan team take the lead. Entering stoppage time, Riyadh Crescent won a penalty kick, and Saudi international Kanu dragged the game into overtime in one fell swoop. Both sides were unable to rewrite the score in 30 minutes of overtime. The game entered a penalty shootout. In the end, Riyadh Crescent eliminated the opponent 5-3 with a penalty kick and a total score of 6-4. Riyadh Crescent will challenge last season's Copa Libertadores champion Flamengo in the next round.