Al Ahly of Egypt are all set to face the mighty Germans, Bayern Munich in the semi-finals of the FIFA Club World Cup.
The Egyptian champions will be up against it when they face off against the European champions on Monday. Bayern Munich won every game in the UEFA Champions League en route to the title last season and won the coveted treble as well.
Bayern are coming into the tournament as overwhelming favourites and it is going to be an extremely uphill task for the Egyptian side.
However, the team managed to do something that other African clubs failed to do so since 2013 in the FIFA Club World Cup.
The most decorated club in the world – Al Ahly, became the first African club in 8 years to win their opening Club World Cup game as they beat hosts Al Duhail in Qatar 1-0.
The Cairo Red Devils secured their spot in the semi-final thanks to a goal by midfielder Hussein el Shahat. Al Ahly’s head coach Pitso Mosimane was ecstatic as the South African’s side finally made it through to the last 4.
It was a series of disappointments for the Egyptian champions up till this point in recent years at the FIFA Club World Cup, managing only 1 top 3 finish in their previous 5 appearances.
It is going to take a serious miracle, however, for the Egyptians to come out on top of the German champions who have some of the world’s best players in Manuel Neuer, Joshua Kimmich, Thomas Muller, Robert Lewandowski and many more.
It is still unclear whether the Germans will send a full-strength squad for the clash but Hansi Flick’s side will regardless be considered much stronger on paper.
Bayern Munich sits 7 points clear at the top of the Bundesliga table and is the outright favourite to retain the title. Al Ahly, on the other hand, is perched in 2nd currently behind Zamalek although, the Cairo Red Devils do have a game in hand, which if they do win then they will go 1 point clear at the top of the table.
Al Ahly is unbeaten so far in the Egyptian Premier League and they will be keen to push on and cause an upset on Monday when they play the Bavarians.