Al Ahly and Real Madrid will square off in the second semifinal of the FIFA Club World Cup on February 8, 2023, at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat, Morocco. Rodrygo of Real Madrid celebrates the team’s third goal with Luka Modric after the goal was scored. courtesy of REUTERS/Andrew Boyers
RABAT, Feb 8 (Reuters) – Vinicius Jr., Federico Valverde, Rodrygo, and Sergio Arribas scored for Real Madrid as they defeated Al Ahly of Egypt 4-1 in Morocco on Wednesday. This victory allowed Real Madrid to advance to the final round of the Club World Cup.
Despite missing numerous starters—including star attacker Karim Benzema and starting goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois—Real Madrid had the home-field advantage in front of a boisterous crowd at the sold-out Prince Moulay Abdallah stadium in Rabat.
There was a vibrant atmosphere and a deen, which is unusual for a Club World Cup, as the white Real Madrid jerseys much outnumbered the red of Al Ahly. The Moroccan supporters even erected a gigantic banner in favor of the Spanish giants. There will be no team affiliations at this stadium.
They had trouble breaking the stalemate, though, since Al Ahly’s defense was so well organized, and the Egyptians were dangerous on the counterattack.
In the 28th minute, Vinicius missed the target with a shot, and Rodrygo hit the post, but Real opened the goal immediately before halftime.
Aliou Dieng made a terrible pass to Mahmoud Metwaly, who, under pressure from Vinicius, lost possession of the ball to the Brazilian. Vinicius then dinked a beautiful effort over the goalie to score his 50th goal for Real Madrid in 202 career appearances.
Just a few minutes after the halftime break, Valverde scored to increase Real’s advantage by tapping the ball into an empty net after the goalie had blocked Rodrygo’s close-range shot.
Vinicius had two chances to put the game out of reach, but he squandered both of them. In the 65th minute, Al Ahly got a penalty when Eduardo Camavinga fouled Hussein El Shahat inside the area. Defender Ali Maaloul converted the spot kick.
Although Real Madrid’s Luka Modric missed a penalty three minutes from the end of the game, Real’s Rodrygo and substitute Arribas completed a comfortable win in stoppage time with close-range goals to ensure a victory. Afsha missed a sitter from close range that would have been the equalizer for Al Ahly. Rodrygo and Arribas both came on as substitutes.
After defeating the defending South American champions Flamengo with a score of 3-2 in the first semi-final, Real will play Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia in the final, which will take place on Saturday in Rabat.
According to Carlo Ancelotti, the team’s head coach, “We come here with tremendous eagerness to play in the final.”
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“We are filled with both excitement and trepidation about how well we will play in the championship game. Even if we don’t have a lot of time, we need to get some rest. For our chances of success, we need to get enough of rest.”
