TANGIER, Morocco — With a full moon beaming over Ibn Batouta Stadium, the stage was set for the Sounders to accomplish the unlikely.
Seattle entered the Moroccan night the underdog in their FIFA men’s Club World Cup debut against Egyptian power Al Ahly, who finished third in the tournament the past two years. The sides were goalless in the opening half, increasing the odds for the Sounders.
But the chaos ended up being an Al Ahly shot pinning off the crossbar and getting reflected by midfielder Afsha for the game-winning goal in the 88th minute.
The 1-0 result advances Al Ahly to a match with Real Madrid in the semifinals on Wednesday in Morocco’s capital city of Rabat. The Spanish powerhouse is the reigning UEFA champions and a four-time Club World Cup winner.
“I thought we were good and I thought we were evenly matched,” Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer said on the broadcast after the loss. “Had a couple of chances, but the deflection on the goal was unfortunate. … They put everything into the game and everything into the preseason.”
Midfielder Nico Lodiero opened the near chances for the Sounders when he smacked a deflection wide of goal in the 14th minute. Sounders defender Jackson Ragen, forward Jordan Morris and midfielder Albert Rusnak followed with attempts that missed, sending the sides into the break scoreless.
Sounders midfielder Josh Atencio made Red Devils keeper Mohamed El Shenawy work when he right-footed a shot center of goal. The Egyptian international collected the save in the 51st minute.
Al Ahly coach Marcel Koller started making his substitutions in the 63rd minute, bringing on three players, most notably striker Mohamed Sherif.
Schmetzer made his first move in the 68th minute when he pulled Atencio for Joao Paulo, marking the end of an eight-month recovery from a torn ACL for the star midfielder. But amid the rotation, Al Ahly pushed for their biggest scoring opportunity of the match.
Afsha’s right-footed shot went left of goal in the 69th minute.
Schmetzer later put Danny Leyva on for Cristian Roldan in the 85th minute but didn’t put strikers Heber and Fredy Montero on until the second-half stoppage time.
Asian nominee Al-Hilal SFC of Saudi Arabia defeated African champion Wydad Casablanca 5-3 in a penalty shootout in Saturday’s earlier match in Rabat. Al-Hilal advances to play South American champion C.R. Flamengo of Brazil on Tuesday in the Club World Cup’s other semifinal match.
This story will be updated.