Egypt Daily News – The FIFA Club World Cup kicked off late Saturday night into Sunday in the United States with a match between Egypt’s Al Ahly and Inter Miami that ended in a goalless draw. Mahmoud Hassan “Trezeguet” missed a penalty in the 43rd minute. Portuguese side Porto will face Brazilian club Palmeiras on Sunday at MetLife Stadium in the same group.
Al Ahly missed the chance to secure all three points in their opening match against Inter Miami, settling for a goalless draw. Inter Miami’s Argentine goalkeeper Oscar Ustari and Al Ahly’s Mohamed El Shenawy played key roles in helping their teams share the points.
Al Ahly showed a high level of play in the first half, during which they missed four major scoring chances, including the missed penalty. Surprisingly, they dropped off in the second half, during which Inter Miami came closer to winning, if not for El Shenawy’s heroics in the final minutes.
Al Ahly nearly secured the win in the first half
Inter Miami failed to delight their home fans despite a strong showing from star player Lionel Messi in a packed stadium that holds 64,000 spectators. Al Ahly came close to winning the match in the first half, with Palestinian forward Wissam Abu Ali missing several chances—particularly in the 5th, 30th, 32nd, and 33rd minutes. Imam Ashour also missed a clear opportunity in the 8th minute before exiting with a shoulder injury. He was replaced by new signing Ahmed Sayed “Zizo” in the 14th minute.
Al Ahly were awarded a penalty in the 41st minute after Zizo was fouled in the box, but Trezeguet’s shot to the right was saved by Ustari. Trezeguet then tried again on the rebound but failed to score, with the ball ending up safely in the keeper’s hands.
El Shenawy shines in the second half
Inter Miami started the second half pressing hard. Argentine Tadeo Allende nearly scored with a close-range shot saved by El Shenawy in the 51st minute. El Shenawy then denied Messi’s strike from the edge of the area in the 57th minute.
In the 64th minute, the crowd thought Messi had scored from a free kick, but the ball hit the side netting and didn’t go in. El Shenawy continued his outstanding performance by stopping a powerful header from Haitian substitute Fafa Picault in the 85th minute and saving a long-range effort from Messi in the sixth minute of stoppage time. He then made a final save from a header by Uruguayan Maximiliano Falcón in the 98th minute.
Al Ahly announces Imam Ashour will miss the rest of the tournament
Dr. Ahmed Gaballah, Al Ahly’s team doctor, stated that medical scans confirmed Imam Ashour suffered a broken collarbone. The injury was confirmed following tests conducted at a hospital in Miami, ruling him out for the remainder of the Club World Cup.
The match between Al Ahly and Inter Miami ended in a 0-0 draw in the first round of Group A, which also includes Palmeiras and Porto. Al Ahly will face Palmeiras in their second group match on Thursday, June 19. Their final group match will be against Porto early Tuesday morning, June 24.
Sunday’s match schedule (local and GMT times):
Group C:
- (12:00 local, 16:00 GMT) Bayern Munich (Germany) vs Auckland City (New Zealand) at TQL Stadium, Cincinnati
Group B:
- (12:00 local, 19:00 GMT) Paris Saint-Germain (France) vs Atletico Madrid (Spain) at Rose Bowl Stadium, Los Angeles
- (19:00 local, 02:00 GMT) Botafogo (Brazil) vs Seattle Sounders (USA) at Lumen Field, Seattle
Group A:
- (18:00 local, 22:00 GMT) Palmeiras (Brazil) vs Porto (Portugal) at MetLife Stadium, New York
