Al Duhail, making their FIFA Club World Cup debut, had vowed to put up a fight against African champions Al Ahly, and the Qatari side delivered on their promise. But the home side’s best effort wasn’t enough as they slumped to a 0-1 loss to the Egyptians at the Education City Stadium yesterday.
Hussein Elshahat’s 30th-minute strike proved to be the difference between the two sides, as Al Ahly secured a semi-final date with European powerhouse Bayern Munich on Monday.
For Duhail and coach Sabri Lamouchi, it was a case of what could have been as they wasted at least three scoring chances in the second half. Now, the reigning QNB Stars League champions will have to do with a consolation fifth-place playoff against Ulsan Hyundai, who had earlier lost to Mexican side Tigres UANL.
Lamouchi reverted to a 4-3-3 defensive formation and kept Almoez Ali on the bench, instead opting to start with new recruit Michael Olunga. The Frenchman also surprisingly left out the experienced Luiz Martin and Assem Madibo.
Ahly coach Pitso Mosimane kept his usual 4-2-3-1 formation, giving Congo striker Walter Bwalya a place in the starting XI instead of Mohamed Sherif or Marwan Mohsen. And it proved to be an inspirational choice from the South African as Bwalya played a key role in Ahly’s goal.
The Cairo-based outfit started brightly and dominated possession but couldn’t carve out a clear-cut opening until Bassam al-Rawi gifted them one. The Duhail centre-back lost the ball to an alert Bwalya, who set it up for Elshahat to fire a low shot into the bottom corner from just outside the penalty area.
Just minutes later, Bwalya had the ball in the net but the goal was ruled out after a VAR review with the Ahly forward marginally offside. The visitors continued to press for the second goal but Duhail held on to go into the break with just a one-goal deficit.
After the break, Lamouchi made a tactical switch bringing in Almoez Ali and Mohamed Muntari for Olunga and al-Rawi. The changes seemed to work for Duhail as they looked more threatening than their opponents.  
With the Brazilian duo Edmilson and Dudu forming a devastating front line with Almoez, Duhail were always in the game. Edmilson, in particular, was livewire in the second half, but the 26-year-old was poor with his final pass.
In the 56th minute, Edmilson dispossessed Mohamed Hany but his shot was blocked by Aliou Dieng. With Duhail going out all in attack, goalkeeper Mohamed Elshenawy came to Ahly’s rescue on more than one occasion. The African champions’ captain first deflected a powerful shot from Muntari into the corner before denying Mohamed Moussa and Dudu in quick succession.
At the other end, Ahly themselves had a chance to double the lead but Dieng shot inches wide of the post. With time running out, Duhail were desperate for the equaliser and they nearly had one in the 79th minute when Muntari headed the ball towards the goal but Elshenawy pulled out a stunning save.
Four minutes later, Muntari was once again in the thick of the action but the Qatari midfielder’s header off a corner went over the bar. That was the last real chance Duhail could conjure, as Al Ahly held on.
Duhail’s attacking approach in the second half was evident as they had a whopping 15 attempts with seven shots on target. Al Ahly attempted just seven shots at goal with one shot on target but that was enough for them to set-up a mouthwatering semi-final against Bayern at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium on Monday.