Afsha Breaks Seattle Sounders’ Hearts

Mohamed Afsha’s deflected effort in the 88th minute sent Al Ahly into the Club World Cup semifinals as there beat the Seattle Sounders 1-0 on Saturday.

Seattle Sounders made history as the first Major League Soccer club to participate in the FIFA Club World Cup, but that is all they will be able to take home with them from Morocco as they were cruelly beaten by Al Ahly 1-0 in the quarterfinals.

Sounders had chances but failed to produce the moment of quality in front of net needed to strike. Playing in their first match of the season, nearly a month before the MLS season begins, there was a clear lack of sharpness and fitness, as one might expect.

Al Ahly, who were extremely poor in the first half, began to build themselves into the match across the hour mark, and they found their key moment with just two minutes from the end of regulation. Substitute forward Mohamed Magdy struck the bar with a glittering strike, and the rebound found its way back to his feet. He poked his second effort on goal, and a massive deflection off Alex Roldan took the ball past Stefan Frei to break the Sounders’ hearts.

The prize to this quarterfinal match was large, as Al Ahly now advance to a semifinal date with European giants Real Madrid, in the competition as the defending Champions League winners.