Al Ahly defeated Al Duhail SC on Thursday in the first round of the FIFA Club World Cup at Education City Stadium.

Hussein El Shahaat scored the winning goal after 30 minutes and it was enough for us to secure a spot in the semi-finals.

The Red Eagles booked a place in the Club World Cup semi-finals for the third time in our history.

Al Ahly had a strong start to the game and dominated the midfield from the start thanks to the short accurate passes between our midfielders and full-backs on the flanks.

Our attackers put much pressure on the opponent’s defense and prevented the defenders from building from the backline.

Al Ahly players kept the possession and counted on passes between the lines to break the Qatari defense.

Our winger Hussein El Shahaat gave us the lead after firing a screamer from the edge of the box that found the target to make the score 1-0.

Our attackers looked energized after the goal and we had two shots on target in the next five minutes. Ali Maaloul’s shot was blocked by Al Duhail SC’s defense while Hamdy Fathy’s efforts went over the bar.

Walter Bwalya added the second goal with a fine finish but the referee disallowed the goal after checking VAR.

Minutes went by with no chances from both sides and the referee blew his whistle to announce a 1-0 lead for the Red Eagles at the break.

The second half started with pressure from the Qatari side and our defense stepped up, blocking all their attempts.

Mosimane made his first substitution in the game, as Aliou Dieng replaced Hamdy Fathy after 9 minutes from the start of the second half.

Al Duhail’s attempts continued and the Red Eagles were ready for counter-attacks, aiming to kill the game by adding the second goal.

In the 71st minute, Mosimane used his bench again as Akram Tawfik and Marwan Mohsen joined the match instead of Taher Mohamed Taher and Walter Bwalya.  

Ten minutes later, Salah Mohsen entered instead of Hussein El Shahaat, adding more fresh legs on the pitch.

Dieng had a chance to add the second goal but his shot missed the target.

The referee added six minutes and our players were calm and passed the ball in the midfield and Ali Maaloul won a corner-kick in the last minute of the game.

Al Duhail SC failed to put the ball in their final third in the last minute and the referee blew his whistle to send the Red Eagles to the semi-finals.