Al Ahly Face Fearsome Test
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Al Ahly’s hopes of becoming a leading international club will face a fearsome test on Saturday when they meet the Mexican side Pachuca in FIFA Club World Cup in Japan.
The Egyptian giants, who won last month’s MTN CAF Champions League, have turned themselves into a dominant force in African football, and have a huge following across the Arab world, but have not been able to translate their potential onto a wider stage.
Their two previous appearances at the FIFA Club World Cup have ended disappointingly but there are high hopes that they could be the first African side to go all the way to the final this year.
But first Al Ahly must get past Pachuca, who last year lost to Etoile du Sahel of Tunisia at the same stage of the tournament.
Pachuca were the winners of the Champions League in the CONCACAF region (central and north America and the Caribbean).
Al Ahly’s serious intent in this year’s tournament has been evidenced by their decision to travel to Japan a week ahead of their first match to get overcome jet lag and acclimatise.
On Thursday, Al Ahly coach Manuel Jose had his players go through several videos of their Mexican opponents and there will be a final training session in Friday.
Jose has stated his hopes to extend the Al Ahly’s culture of success beyond Africa.
"Our target is to make the world watch the representative of Africa perform well against Europe’s champions. But we consider every game as a final."
The Portuguese coach says most of his squad are no strangers to the event and this would help in his planning.
"We will do our best to win," he said.
The winner of Saturday’s match plays again on Wednesday against South American champions LCD Quito of Ecuador.
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Egypt
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Ivory Coast
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