maybe we'll see a match for 3rd place between Flamengo and Real It would be really nice to have Al Ahly vs Al Hilal in the Final, with the biggest African and Asian clubs meeting for the most prestigious intercontinental trophy. There should be 50/50 chances for first trophy.
And that's it! We have our first upset at this CWC. 3:2 for Al Hilal. Flamengo get a second in the dying minutes but it's too little too late. What a change of fortunes for Al Hilal. From nearly going out to Wydad to CWC finalists. Saudi Arabia and Riyadh's Al Hilal have now, in the span of a few months, beaten the South American champions at the World Cup and Club World Cup.
Something to ponder: In the last ten years, the Libertadores champions have won exactly five out of ten semi-final encounters. One of them was an extra time victory against semi-professional Auckland City. 2013: Raja Casablanca - Atlético Mineiro 3:1 2014: San Lorenzo - Auckland City 2:1 AET 2015: Sanfrecce Hiroshima - River Plate 0:1 2016: Atlético Nacional - Kashima Antlers 0:3 2017: Grêmio - Pachuca 1:0 AET 2018: River Plate - Al Ain 2:2; 4:5 PSO 2019: Flamengo - Al Hilal 3:1 2020: Palmeiras - Tigres UANL 0:1 2021: Palmeiras - Al Ahly 2:0 2022: Flamengo - Al Hilal 2:3 And it's not that fluke winners have represented CONMEBOL, at least not in the past few years. Both, Flamengo and Palmeiras, have been consistently strong in the Copa Libertadores. Thoughts?
All these matches, from the semi-finals to the final, are balanced. And the winner will be the team with fewer mistakes. Even though the South American clubs have been eliminated in 5 of the last 10 editions, each time the match was decided in extra time or by a small goals difference (2016 exception). European clubs also failed to register huge scores, but they won almost all the time.
Matchday 3 - Summary: M1 | 01.02.23 | Al Ahly - Auckland City 3:0 (First Round) - Highlights M2 | 04.02.23 | Seattle Sounders - Al Ahly 0:1 (Second Round) - Highlights M3 | 04.02.23 | Wydad Casablanca - Al Hilal 1:1/3:5 PSO (Second Round) - Highlights M4 | 07.02.23 | CR Flamengo - Al Hilal 2:3 (Semi-Final) - Highlights M5 | 08.02.23 | Al Ahly - Real Madrid (Semi-Final) M6 | 11.02.23 | Loser M5 - CR Flamengo (Match for 3rd Place) M7 | 11.02.23 | Winner M5 - Al Hilal (Final)
The Seattle Sounders and Flamengo, at their own peril, dreamt about Real Madrid prematurely. But Al Ahly got their encounter with the European champions. In spite of having participated seven times in the CWC until this year, Al Ahly have only once locked horns with Europe's finest (Bayern Munich in the 2020 CWC). So what awaits Al Ahly? Bliss or nightmare? We will find out shortly...
Halftime: Al Ahly - Real Madrid 0:1 Vinicius Junior punishes a defensive error before halftime. Not what Al Ahly needed just minutes before the break. But that's what world class players do. Al Ahly had a couple of decent chances themselves.
2:0 for Real Madrid. I'm afraid this one is all but over... El Shenawy didn't look that good on the goal. Needs to deflect better.
Justice done, was a very soft penalty. Seriously wondering how many penalties we're going to see in the final with Real Madrid and Al Hilal getting them like crazy lol....