Egypt’s Al-Ahly look to raise spirits of heartbroken nation at FIFA Club World Cup

It wasn’t a completely heartbreaking weekend for Egyptian football.

The national team may have lost the African Cup of Nations final against Senegal in a penalty shootout, always the worst way to lose, but Al-Ahly rolled, almost unnoticed, into the semifinal of the FIFA Club World Cup.

On Tuesday evening in Abu Dhabi, the Cairo giants will take on South American champions Palmeiras.

At stake is a place in a final that would be especially mouthwatering as it would come either against European title-holders Chelsea, the glamor tie, or what would be an epic all-Arab showdown against Saudi Arabian powerhouse Al-Hilal.

Beating Monterrey 1-0 on Saturday was an impressive feat. The five-time Mexican and CONCACAF champions are no strangers to this global tournament, finishing in third place twice — the same number of times as the North Africans. Mohamed Hany scored the only goal of the game eight minutes into the second half with a well-taken shot from the edge of the area. It was a game that Al-Ahly deserved to win with a slick and professional performance that gave the healthy contingent of Egyptian fans at the Al-Nahyan Stadium plenty to cheer about.

What is even more impressive is that the Red Giants were severely weakened. As the best team in Africa, who would have probably won a sixth successive Egyptian title last season had they not been busy with continental commitments, they have a healthy international contingent. Al-Ahly sent seven players to the African Nations Cup and are also battling with injuries, too, losing star South African striker Percy Tau.

Coach Pitso Mosimane expressed his dissatisfaction with the scheduling situation. “If Caf and Fifa can arrange games on top of one other, it’s amazing,” the