Ahli manager Manuel Jose urged Ahli players on Saturday to win the third place in the Club World Cup to make new history for themselves and their club. The Egyptian and African champions take on Mexico's Club America on Sunday in the third-place tie as Barcelona take on Internacional later on the same day in the final match. "I'm satisfied that we've shown how competitive an African team can be," Jose was quoted as saying by FIFA's official website. Ahli beat Auckland City of New Zealand 2-0 in the tournament opener before battling with the Copa Libertadores champions Internacional in the semis but ended losing 2-1. They now guarantee at least fourth place, the best spot an African team achieved since the start of the tournament. But the Portuguese manager believes his side should make the best they could of this opportunity and get on the podium. "Now I want my players to really believe in themselves and go on and beat America," Jose said. "Third place would be a historic feat and we're fired up to go out and get it." Club America edged Asian champions Jeonbuk of Korea 1-0 in the first game before being crushed by Barcelona 4-0 in the semis.
Jose Ahli will play without African Cup of Nations best keeper Essam Al-Hadari who sustained a knee injury that will rule him out for up to three weeks. Amir Abdul-Hamid, who replaced Al-Hadari during the Internacional defeat, will be granted a rare start on Sunday. Apart from Al-Hadari, a full squad led by international playmaker and Premiership-target Mohamed Abou-Treika is ready to clinch the bronze medal. "I believe we've performed well here and on the whole have had a positive experience," Abou-Treika said. "However, before we start patting ourselves on the back, we have our third-place match, where we'll be trying to overcome Club America." Abou-Treika scored only one of Ahli's three goals in the tournament while Angola's in-from striker Flavio Amado, who is set to start alongside Emad Meteb in the attacking line, added the other two. Islam Al-Shater and Tarek Al-Saied will be deployed wide on the flanks with Mohamed Shawki playing a more defensive role in front of the back trio Emad Al-Nahhas, Shady Mohamed and Wael Gomaa.
