Debutants Wydad will look to upset experienced Pachuca

abu dhabi — It will be flair versus resistance on show as Fifa Club World Cup regulars CF Pachuca from Mexico take on Moroccan debutants Wydad Athletic Club in the UAE Capital on Saturday.

Both clubs lie on the either end of the North Atlantic Ocean. Pachuca are the Concacaf Champions League winners, and Wydad, holders of CAF Champions League.

Making their mark for the first time, the Moroccans landed in Abu Dhabi with all the top names from CAF Champions League winning squad. Striker Achraf Bencharki and midfielder Walid El Karti were instrumental in Wydad clinching three consecutive League wins before heading into this tournament. The duo is confident about positive results at the Zayed Sports City Stadium.

Bencharki noted that each match is like a final in the tournament.

“We’re going to have to be extremely focused if we want to qualify for the next round.”

El Karti hoped he will improve his partnership with Bencharki, which has seen the pair net five times in three matches. “We can still improve the relationship we have in order to do better at the Club World Cup, though.”

Wydad midfielder Salaheddine Saidi said the team are raring to have a go against Mexican outfit.

“The match against Pachuca is going to be really tough, like every game at the Club World Cup. We haven’t come just to take part. We need to perform at our best to show how good Moroccan football is.”

Meanwhile, four-time participant Pachuca are aware of the threat posed by ‘Kings of Titles’ – Wydad. The Casablanca side have won the Morocco league title a record 19 times. Pachuca defender Joaquin Martinez knows the difficulty of the task ahead.

“We know it’s not going to be easy, but we’ve come prepared. We’ve not had any games over these last two weeks but we’ve worked really hard and we hope things work out for us.”

Veteran goalkeeper Oscar Perez said the match is one of the biggest of his career.

“These are very difficult matches. The standard is really high. We have to be very well prepared, both physically and mentally. The first match is absolutely vital. We’re coming up against the best in the world and we can’t afford to put a foot wrong,” the 44-year-old said.