Japanese outfit Urawa Red Diamonds face Egyptian giants Al Ahly in the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup third-place playoff at the Prince Abdullah al-Faisal Stadium in Jeddah on Friday.
While Urawa are competing for the bronze medal for the second time in their history, Al Ahly have made it to the third-place playoff for the sixth time in the tournament's 20-year existence.
Match preview
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After edging past Club Leon by a 1-0 scoreline in the second round, Urawa Red Diamonds were rewarded with a glamour tie against European champions Manchester City in the semi-finals, albeit fully aware of the colossal task facing them in their quest to reach the showpiece event.
Despite offering almost nothing going forward, Maciej Skorza's men displayed plenty of defensive resilience and frustrated Man City for the majority of the first half, but their dogged efforts were in vain as an unfortunate own goal from Marius Hoibraten put the Citizens in front shortly before the interval.
The Reds were then swept aside in the second half, with Man City duo Mateo Kovacic and Bernardo Silva both on the scoresheet to condemn a spirited Urawa side to a 3-0 defeat, ending their ambitious dreams of Club World Cup glory.
Just three wins in 11 matches across all competitions have been posted by Urawa, whose defence of their Asian Champions League crown ended in the group stage earlier this month, and their fourth-placed finish in the Japanese J1 League means that they have failed to qualify for next year's tournament.
Skorza has confirmed that he will be leaving his post after Friday's game, so the Pole will be keen to bow out on a high with victory over Al Ahly. The Reds are sure to reminisce about their only previous outing in the third-place playoff back in 2007, when they edged past Tunisian club Etoile Sportive du Sahel on penalties following a 2-2 draw in 120 minutes.
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Al Ahly extended their unwanted record of having featured at nine Club World Cups without ever reaching the final after suffering a 2-0 defeat against Brazilian outfit Fluminense in the semi-finals on Monday.
There was little separate the two teams heading into the final 20 minutes, but Jhon Arias eventually made the breakthrough for Fluminense from the penalty spot before substitute John Kennedy added a late second to condemn the Egyptian champions to yet another defeat at the semi-final stage.
No other team in Club World Cup history have played more games (24) than Al Ahly, who are now gearing up for a fourth successive third-place playoff and a record sixth such fixture in total.
The Red Devils beat both Palmeiras and Al-Hilal in the 2020 and 2021 third-place playoffs before losing 4-2 to Flamengo last year under current head coach Marcel Koller, who has lost just eight of his 79 games in charge of the African Champions League holders.
Al Ahly will want to round off their latest Club World Cup campaign on a high by beating Urawa before shifting their attention back to domestic duties, with an Egyptian Super Cup clash against Ceramica Cleopatra to come next Monday.
Team News
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Not only will Friday's contest be the last in the Urawa dugout for manager Skorza, but it will also mark a swan song for 33-year-old Guinea international Jose Kante, who will play the final match of his career versus Al Ahly after announcing his plans to retire last month.
Right-back Takahiro Sekine, left-back Takahiro Akimoto and winger Tomoaki Okubo all managed to shake off knocks to start against Man City, and the Reds trio are expected to retain their places in the starting lineup.
Skorza could name the same starting lineup for the third successive game, although Dutch attacker Alex Schalk, who scored the only goal in Urawa's second-round win over Club Leon, will be hoping to force his way into the first XI ahead of either Kaito Yasui or Yoshio Koizumi.
As for Al Ahly, Ahmed Kouka watched on as an unused substitute against Fluminense after picking up a knock in the previous match, but the midfielder could be in a position to return to the starting lineup at the expense of Akram Tawfik.
Anthony Modeste was sent off just three minutes after coming off the bench in the second-round win over Al Ittihad, but after serving a one-game suspension on Monday, the Frenchman – formerly of Koln and Borussia Dortmund – is back in contention to start up front ahead of Kahraba.
Left-back Ali Maaloul, midfielder Emam Ashour and winger Hussein El Shahat all scored against Al Ittihad last week and the trio are expected to keep their places in Koller's starting XI.
Urawa Red Diamonds possible starting lineup:
Nishikawa; Sekine, Scholz, Hoibraten, Akimoto; Ito, Iwao; Okubo, Yasui, Koizumi; Kante
Al Ahly possible starting lineup:
El Shenawy; Hany, Ibrahim, Abdelmonem, Maaloul; Kouka, Ateya, Ashour; Tau, Kahraba, El Shahat
We say: Urawa Red Diamonds 1-2 Al Ahly (after extra time)
A closely-fought contest between two evenly-matched teams could be on the cards on Friday, one that may even go beyond 90 minutes, but considering Al Ahly's wealth of experience at this stage as well as their recent form in all competitions, we believe that the Egyptian side will find a way to outscore Urawa en route to claiming the bronze medal.
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