Al-Ahly too strong for Auckland City in Club World Cup

Egyptian side Al-Ahly saw off New Zealand’s Auckland City 3-0 to seal victory in the opening match of the FIFA Club World Cup at the Ibn Batouta Stadium in Morocco on Wednesday.

Auckland held firm for the majority of the first half and looked to be going into the break at 0-0 but Hussein El Shahat’s strike after two minutes of stoppage time gave the Red Devils the breakthrough.

The 30-year-old struck his effort from outside of the box, before it flew past goalkeeper Conor Tracey whose view was obstructed.

In the second half, Al-Ahly showed their class from the start.

The African Champions League runners-up went 2-0 up thanks to a cool finish from Mohamed Sherif.

Percy Tau added the third with an 86th-minute chipped finish to cap off a flowing team move. The tie was then put completely out of reach for Auckland when Adam Mitchell was shown a straight red card for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity. With his goal, El Shahat became the fourth player to score in three editions of the tournament.

He joins esteemed company in Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo,

With his goal, El Shahat became the fourth player to score in three editions of the tournament. He joins esteemed company in Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo.

and Gareth Bale.

The result puts Al-Ahly into the second round where they are due to face Major League Soccer side Seattle Sounders. Seattle will make history in the fixture by becoming the first American team to play in the competition.

The pair are also set to play in Tangier at the Ibn Batouta Stadium, with the match scheduled for Saturday (February 4). Morocco’s Wydad Casablanca and Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia are also due to play in the second-round on the same day. They battle for a place in the semi-finals at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in capital city Rabat. -