A trio of Arab clubs look to take the feel-good factor to the FIFA Club World Cup in Qatar 2022
As Morocco looks to begin the FIFA Club World Cup on Wednesday night, it will be almost impossible for Arab fans not to cast their minds back to the golden month of football that was the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
That the intercontinental club tournament is taking place in the same country that gave us the first Arab or African team to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup six weeks ago seems a little too good to be true.
A trio of Arab clubs in Morocco – home club Wydad AC, Saudi Al-Hilal and Egypt’s Al-Ahly – will now hope to carry the feel-good factor to Qatar 2022 for the next two weeks.
As always, it won’t be easy for the African and Asian representatives at the Club World Cup. Standing in their way are European champions Real Madrid, Copa Libertadores winners Flamengo from Brazil, CONCACAF’s Seattle Sounders FC from the US and New Zealand’s Oceana Auckland City.
But thanks to the heroics of the Arab national teams in Doha, these obstacles are no longer something to be feared, but to be attacked.
For a start, reigning African champions Widad will have high hopes of emulating their national heroes in front of their own fans.
Keep an eye on Ayman Al-Hassouni, one of the team’s most influential stars and its attacking mastermind.
The 27-year-old has had an outstanding season, forming a strong midfield partnership with Yahya Gebran and scoring six goals in 14 appearances.
Wydad will open its Club World Cup campaign against Al-Hilal on Saturday, thereby guaranteeing at least one Arab team a place in the semi-finals.
The Saudi and Asian Champions of Ramon Diaz are about to take a big step.
It’s been less than two months since the Saudi national team shone at the World Cup with a historic 2-1 victory over eventual champions Argentina.
On an unforgettable night at Doha’s Lusail Stadium, it was star player Salem Al-Dawsari who scored a historic winner to seal his place in the hearts of Arab football fans.
The 31-year-old – with three goals in 11 games this season – will once again fuel his team’s hopes at the Club World Cup, especially with fellow Saudi internationals Salman Al-Faraj and Yasser Al-Shahrani still out of Qatar. I was seriously injured.
However, this is a halal team that is becoming very familiar with the Cubs World Cup, with seven other players participating for the third time. Abdullah Al-Mayuf, Andre Carrillo, Ali Al-Bulahi, Mohamed Kanno, Jung Hyun-soo, Mohamed Jahfli and Gustavo Cuellar all participated in the 2019 and 2021 editions.
However, to surpass their previous finish of fourth place, improvement is needed at both ends of the field. The team have been impeccable in front of goal this season, scoring 12 goals in 15 league appearances; Not a disaster by any means, but more than Diaz expected from his title challenger team.
But it is Al-Ahly who opened the proceedings on Wednesday night against Auckland City at the Tangier Stadium.
Egypt may have missed out on the party in Qatar, but the giants from Cairo have created a history in this tournament in their eighth participation. In fact they are the only team in the country to have played in it, and have finished a creditable third on three occasions in 2006, 2020 and 2021.
Expect attacking midfielder Ahmed Abdel Kader to play an influential role for Al-Ahli in Morocco. The 23-year-old has been regarded as one of the pillars of the team over the last two seasons, scoring 11 goals and scoring seven goals in 60 appearances. Coach Marcel Köhler would look to him as an inspiration in attack, especially with his ability to tackle defensive blocks and his partnership with left-back Ali Maloul.
Three Arab clubs with three of their leading stars have a chance to write their names in history. And if any inspiration is needed, they only need to look at Qatar 2022.