Hosts Al-Ain Fc had no trouble facing Esperance de Tunis as they defeated them easily to move on to the FIFA Club World Cup semifinals.
First Half
Al-Ain went into offense right from the start as they were granted a corner very early into the match. It took them no time to score as Mohamed Ahmed connected on a corner to give his team the lead. Al-Ain was up by one after just two minutes of game. The host team surrendered ball control despite having the lead. They allowed Esperance de Tunis to attack. Despite their attempts on target they could not level the score. Unfortunately for Tunis, Al-Ain struck again.
Hussein El Shahat scored for Al-Ain after the fifteen-minute mark to widen the lead. Despite having ball possession, Tunis was extremely inaccurate as they had plenty of scoring chances but could not finish their plays.
Al-Ain had the lead at halftime, both teams headed to the showers with the score 2-0.
Second Half
The second half had a similar pace to the first set of 45 minutes. The African champions dominated ball possession but were unable to convert. Al-Ain showed a very organized defense that troubled the African XI. To make matter worse for Tunis, the Arab squad moved quickly down the field, thus creating dangerous counter attack opportunities that troubled their defensive line.
The Tunisian squad adopted a more aggressive style of play near the 60th minute as nearly their entire team played offense in the opposition’s side of the pitch. The did not pay off for them as Al-Ain unraveled quickly down the field once again, this time they did not miss their chance. Bandar Al Ahbabbi added one more goal to Al-Ain’s lead at the hour mark off a cross by Caio Fernandes. Tunis was now down by three with half an hour to play. The Arab tea, had little trouble during the final stretch of the game as their opposition were not much of a threat.
Final Score: Al-Ain Fc 3-0 Esperance de Tunis
Where To Watch
Al-Ain Fc will go head to head with Copa Libertadores winners River Plate this Tuesday at the first semifinal of the tournament. The match kicks off at 11:00 Am E.T on FS2 and Universo.