Seattle Sounders Denied Date With Real Madrid After Late Loss On FIFA Club World Cup Debut

Seattle Sounders will not play Real Madrid in the FIFA Club World Cup after losing 1-0 to Egyptian side Al Ahly on Saturday.

Seattle Sounders 0-1 Al Ahly 

Seattle Sounders will not play Real Madrid in the FIFA Club World Cup after losing 1-0 to Egyptian side Al Ahly on Saturday.

Last year's CONCACAF Champions League winners became the first ever US team to compete in the Club World Cup.

In Al Ahly, Brian Schmetzer's side were up against an experienced outfit playing in the tournament for an eighth time since 2005.

But Seattle did not look uncomfortable on the big stage.

They dominated the first half of the game, recording eight shots to Al Ahly's one.

None of those shots tested either goalkeeper though.

The second half was a more even battle and it was shaded by Al Ahly after substitute Mohamed Afsha beat Stefan Frei from his team's first shot on target.

Afsha found the net with a deflected volley from outside the penalty area, moments after the same player had struck the crossbar.

Afsha puts @AlAhly ahead 1-0!

His right footed follow up shot from outside the box takes a fortunate deflection and finds the bottom right corner 🙌 pic.twitter.com/eNw9l4Aduz

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) February 4, 2023

Al Ahly's reward for beating Seattle is a semi-final shot at European champions Real on Wednesday night.

The winner of that game will compete in the final three days later.

Brazilian side Flamengo will take on Al-Hilal in the other semi-final, after the Saudi champions overcame Morocco's Wydad Casablanca in a penalty shootout in Saturday's other second round game.

Real are the most successful team in Club World Cup history, having won the title on four occasions - in 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018.

🙌 @AlAhly will advance to the FIFA Club World Cup semifinals thanks to Mohamed Afsha's heroics pic.twitter.com/gfnTCEfPWt

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) February 4, 2023