Rabat: The drums were banging loudly for Morocco’s Waidad AC on a sunny and dramatic Saturday afternoon in Rabat at the FIFA Club World Cup, but Al-Hilal’s Musab Al-Juwais finally silenced them.
The teenage midfielder scored the final kick for the Saudi Arabian giants to win the penalty shootout 5-3 after the game ended 1-1. The Asian champions go through in the semi-finals at the expense of their African counterparts and a clash with Brazil’s Flamengo. If anything, it should be quite a match.
Two hours of action-packed football ended in a 1-1 draw but there was more to it than that. A header early in the second half from Wydad’s Ayoub Emloud got fans in the North African country as excited as they were during the 2022 World Cup, when Morocco reached the semi-finals and became the toast of Qatar.
The World Cup in Saudi Arabia may not have been that exciting, but the club tournament is about to get much better.
One of the few times the home crowd was silenced came after the African champions’ captain Yahya Jabarane was sent off for protesting over a penalty. Mohammad Kanno netted the resulting spot kick to send the game into extra time, during which he was also sent off by the referee.
It was then a penalty and Al-Hilal scored all their goals, while Widad missed one.
For a long time though, it looked like the 18-time Saudi champions were going home in a clash that entertained a capacity crowd of 45,000 at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium. The arena may be in Rabat but it certainly felt and more importantly looked like a home match in Casablanca for the Moroccan powerhouse. The red wall behind the goals has rarely stopped bouncing and singing to the advancing team in white.
Wyad seemed to make a great start in the opening exchanges and looked particularly dangerous from set pieces with Yahya Jabrane firing over from a free-kick.
Indeed, the pressure seemed to be paying off after 19 minutes when they thought they had taken the lead as Jalal Dawoodi slotted the ball home from close range. However, the experienced midfielder was correctly given off by the assistant referee.
Al-Hilal’s first real attempt at goal came after 23 minutes, but Nasser Al-Dawsari sent a free-kick from a dangerous position over the bar.
As the half progressed, Al-Hilal became more involved in the game, although the home team continued to have better chances such as a try on the stroke of half-time. Ouidad’s new Cameroonian forward Didier Lamkel Zey sent in a fine cross from the left, but Ayoub El-Amloud couldn’t get enough of it and the defender’s superb header went wide.
Al-Hilal came close just after the restart. A Salem Al-Dawsari corner from the right fell to Ali Al-Buhali and his snap shot was cleared off the line by Lamkel Zee.
In the 51st minute, Widad’s eighth corner kick made the difference as El-Amlood rose at the far post to head past Abdullah Al-Mayouf with a powerful header.
The Asian champions came into action but struggled to convert pressure into opportunities, although they did come close with 20 minutes remaining when Odion Ighalo’s shot from close range was well saved by Ahmed Reda Tagnauti and Salem Al-Dawsari K’s follow-up was stopped on the line. By Amin Farhane.
Al-Hilal, who have never progressed past the semi-finals in this tournament, went forward looking for an equalizer and the chance came at the end of normal time as they were awarded a penalty for a handball in the area. Wydad captain Jabrane was booked twice in quick succession and sent off.
Amidst the uproar, Kanno kept his cool to drive the ball straight down the middle and suddenly the momentum swung in favor of the Asian champions and Luciano Vito almost won the game in the eighth minute of injury time as Argentina’s free- The kick was pushed. away by the goalkeeper.
The Riyadh giants could not find a winner before extra time and when play resumed they were soon reduced to 10 men as Kanno was given a second yellow card for a foul.
And then it was five penalties each. After Moussa Marega scored the opener for Al-Hilal, Yahya Attiyat Allah’s shot hit both posts but didn’t go in and Widad was in trouble. Vietto, Saleh Al-Shehri and then Abdullah Al-Hamdan scored for the Riyadh club leaving substitute Al-Zawri to secure a place in the last four.