Mexico’s Pachuca defeated Egyptian facet Al Ahly on penalties to arrange Intercontinental Cup last with Spanish giants Actual Madrid in Qatar.
Mexican facet Pachuca beat Egypt’s Al Ahly on penalties at Stadium 974 in Doha on Saturday to say the Challenger Cup and seal their place in FIFA’s Intercontinental Cup last.
Pachuca will now face Spanish giants Actual Madrid, who enter the tournament in the final as European champions, in Wednesday’s showpiece in Qatar.
The South American facet beat the African outfit 6-5 on penalties following a goalless semi-final, during which Al Ahly edged the possession and examined the keeper 5 instances to Pachuca’s three.
4 spot kicks have been missed by the perimeters, together with the opening penalty by Pachuca’s Salomon Rondon, earlier than the decisive second noticed right-back Khaled Abdel Fattah hit the bar along with his effort.
“It was tough, very difficult, particularly due to the marathon recreation we performed immediately,” stated Pachuca coach Guillermo Almada. “We’ll attempt to get the gamers again on their ft and go into the sport (last) with all of the motivation on this planet.”
Wednesday’s last in opposition to Madrid might be performed at Lusail Stadium, which hosted the World Cup final between Argentina and France two years in the past.
A crowd of 38,841 have been in attendance at Stadium 974 on Saturday, which was constructed for the 2022 FIFA World Cup with that variety of transport containers to be a “beacon of sustainability” as a part of Qatar’s pledge to ship the primary carbon-neutral match.
Pachuca of Mexico had romped to an upset in opposition to Brazilian facet Botafogo with a 3-0 win in the last round – the Derby of the Americas – because of second-half strikes from Pachuca’s Oussama Idrissi, Nelson Deossa and Rondon.
Botafogo had solely simply accomplished the home double in Brazil.
The win for Pachuca continues a outstanding yr that has already seen them raise the Concacaf Champions Cup after a 3-0 win within the last in opposition to MLS facet Columbus Crew in early June.
