Record African champions Al Ahly will have to wait for yet another opportunity if they are to make it to the finals of the FIFA Club World Cup for the very first time in their history.This is after South American outfit Palmeiras condemned the Pitso Mosimane coached side to a 2-0 defeat in a semifinal encounter played at the Al Nahyan Stadium in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on Tuesday evening.Prior to the match, the Red Devils were looking to add yet another piece of history to their already rich roll of honours and they received a massive boost as five of their players, who were on duty with the national team that lost to Senegal in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations final, jetted in just in time for the clash.However, the returning boys could not do anything to help as goals from Raphael Veiga and Dudu in either half helped the back to back Copa Libertadores champions exact their revenge on Al Ahly who had beaten them in the 3/4th playoff match in the previous edition via post match penalty shootouts.See you in the #ClubWC final @Palmeiras 🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/PT8lMTtC8g— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) February 8, 2022 The game had certainly taken a slow start in the first half with Palmeiras controlling all the possession but failing to create any clear cut chances in front of goal. Al Ahly on the other hand resorted to soaking in pressure and chancing on one or two counter attacks that were hard to come by as the South Americans covered well.After a cagey opening half hour that witnessed little goal threat, Palmeiras finally managed to steal the lead with six minutes left before the half time break as Veiga got on the end of a Dudu pass before slotting the ball past the outstretched Ali Lofti into the bottom right corner to give his side the advantage at the half time break.ESTAMOS NA FINAL! 💪Com gols de Raphael Veiga e Dudu, vencemos o Al Ahly (EGY) e estamos na decisão do Mundial de Clubes! VAMOS JUNTOS PELO BI! 👊#AvantiPalestra #PALxAHL#JuntosPeloBi pic.twitter.com/7xaIskWW6E— Palmeiras 🏆🏆🏆 (@Palmeiras) February 8, 2022 Just three minutes upon resumption of the second half, Al Ahly’s work was made even more difficult as Dudu and Veiga exchanged roles with the former running onto a cute pass before scoring a beautiful goal that doubled his team’s lead.Chasing two goals, Al Ahly pushed foward and they thought they had given themselves a lifeline on the 72nd minute when substitute Mohammed Sherif found the back of the net after a goalkeeping howler but his attempt was agonizingly ruled out for offside.With nine minutes to time, the difficulty in the task at hand tripled as Ayman Ashraf was given his marching orders for a crunching tackle following intervention from VAR. In the end, Palmeiras staying resolute late on to book their place in the finals.Palmeiras is looking good for the FIFA Club World Cup final in the UAE after Dudu doubles its lead over Al Ahly (via @FoxSoccer) pic.twitter.com/ojeNE6UDfS— Planet Fútbol (@si_soccer) February 8, 2022 With the defeat, Al Ahly drop to the 3/4th place playoff as the South Americans await the winner between Chelsea and Al Hilal in the final.
