Jose Riveiro’s Al Ahly are out of the FIFA Club World Cup after finishing fourth in Group A.
Al Ahly took the lead four times but had to settle for a 4-4 draw against Porto in their clash at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, United States, in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
The Egyptian side accumulated just two points from their three matches.
Against Porto, Riveiro’s men were good in attack but poor in defence.
Wessam Abou Ali hit a hat trick for Al Ahly, but it was not enough.
Al Ahly grabbed the lead on 15 minutes as Porto gave the ball away cheaply, allowing Hamdy Fathy to advance towards the box and then play in Abou Ali on the left, who rolled the ball across goalkeeper Claudio Ramos and into the far corner via the post.
But the lead was short-lived as precocious teenage talent Rodrigo Mora danced his way through the heart of the Al Ahly defense before rounding Mohamed Elshenawy and rifling home.
The pendulum swung back in favour of the Egyptian giants just before the interval as Fabio Vieira bundled into the back of Zizo in the box, allowing Abou Ali to step up and drill the resulting penalty into the bottom left corner of the goal, sending Ramos the wrong way.
The end-to-end drama continued in the second half with William Gomes curling home a delightful right-foot strike from outside the box, only for Al Ahly to respond immediately with Abou Ali completing his hat trick as he headed home.
Martin Anselmi’s men would not lie down, though, and were back on level terms yet again in their next attack, with Samu Aghehowa rising highest in the box to power home from a corner.
Yet every time Porto fought back, Al Ahly found a way to take the lead again with the fourth goal, and the game’s seventh, yet another beauty, as Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane left Ramos grasping at thin air as he found the top corner from range.
Pepe scored the final goal in the 89th minute as honours ended even following a night of high drama.
Despite their group stage exit, Al Ahly’s earnings from the tournament will total R206 million (R170 million participation fee and R36 million for their two draws).
Africa will now pin its hopes on Mamelodi Sundowns and Espérance, both in action on Wednesday, 24 June.
Sundowns will clash against Fluminense at 21H00 SA time and must win to progress.
Espérance, meanwhile, will entertain Chelsea and also need a win to make it to the Round of 16.
Additional reporting by FIFA.com
