Al-Ahly to the "Continents' Second"

Al Ahli of Saudi Arabia advanced to the second round of the FIFA Club World Cup, formerly known as the Intercontinental Cup, by defeating New Zealand’s Auckland City 1-0 in a match played with ten men on Tuesday at the Jeddah Sports City Stadium. The match’s only goal was scored by substitute Saleh Al-Shammar in the 63rd minute. Auckland City played the final minutes with ten men after their English striker Sam Cosgrove was sent off with a straight red card for a reckless challenge in the 87th minute. The two-time Asian champions will now face South African side Mamelodi Sundowns, champions of the CAF Champions League, in the second round. Al Ahli had been eliminated in the second round of last year’s tournament, losing 3-1 to Egypt’s Pyramids FC, the African champions. Early in the second half, New Zealand manager Luke Casper suffered a major blow when his Japanese captain, Hiroki Sakai, was injured, prompting the introduction of Kaln Elliott in the 48th minute. On the other side, Al Ahli coach Boro Primorac substituted Galeno and Al-Juhani, bringing on Al-Shammar and Ukrainian Artem Bondarenko in the 62nd and 63rd minutes, respectively. Al-Shammar quickly rewarded his coach’s trust and ignited the joy of Al Ahli’s fans: Spirtseyan received the ball on the left side from the center of the pitch, advanced to the edge of the New Zealand penalty area, and passed to Al-Shammar, who fired a low shot with his right foot from close range that slipped between goalkeeper Wood’s legs (63). Egyptian referee Amin Omar then sent off the visiting English striker Sam Cosgrove with a straight red card for a reckless challenge in the 87th minute.