Palmeiras add to Egyptian woes with Fifa Club World Cup win over Al Ahly

Egyptian football supporters suffered a second blow in a matter of days after Al Ahly were knocked out of the Fifa Club World Cup at the hands of Palmeiras.

Raphael Veiga and Dudu struck the goals which sent the Brazilian side through to Saturday's final, where they will play the winners of Wednesday's second semi-final between Al Hilal and Chelsea.

The side from Sao Paulo were good value for the victory against the champions of Africa, who were showing signs of both physical and mental fatigue after a trying few nights.

While it meant the side who have won each of the past two Copa Libertadores achieved their main goal, namely a place in the final, it also avenged one other issue. Ahly had beaten Palmeiras to third place at last year's Club World Cup in Qatar.

After their win against Monterrey in the previous round, Ahly’s goalscorer Mohamed Hany had said, “we felt that we were playing at home” thanks to their wall of red supporters at the ground. As might have been expected given the large Egyptian community in the UAE.

The Ahlawy remained in good voice against Palmeiras, but they were unquestionably in the minority this time.

Two-thirds of the crowd at Al Nahyan Stadium were clad in the green and white of the side from Sao Paulo. From well over an hour before kick-off, they were a bouncing, raucous mass.

For the opening throes of the game, the stands were a far more captivating spectacle than the action on the pitch. Every row was bouncing with emotion.

By contrast, the two sets of players were cool and strategic. Ahly lacked some of the zip they had shown in the game against the Mexican side.

That was understandable given that game had been just three days earlier, while two of their starting XI were fresh off the