Yokohama - Mohamed Sabe Arab and Egyptian media delegate accompanying Ahli in his Club World Cup trip in Japan have stressed that the club's clash against Adelaide United will not be a walk in the park for the Red Devils. After losing 4-2 to CONCACAF champions Pachuca on Saturday, Ahli will be facing Adelaide for the competition's fifth place on Thursday. "The game will not be as easy as many presume. Adelaide players enjoy notable physical fitness and Ahli players have to be aware of such strength," ART commentator Tamer Sakr told FilGoal.com. "They have a number of tall players whom they use as target men and their long balls and crosses can cause problems for Ahli defenders." Sakr added that in order to minimize Adelaide's threat, Ahli coach Manuel Jose has to start the game with three defensive midfielders.
Ahli train in the freezing Japanese cold Meanwhile, Al-Masri Al-Youm reporter Ihab Al-Khatib echoed Sakr's comments that Ahli have to be careful ahead of Thursday's clash. "Adelaide are a very strong team to face. They were much better than Gamba Osaka in the second round and they didn't deserve to lose the tie," Al-Khatib said. Aurelio Vidmar's men were knocked out of the competition's second stage, following their 1-0 loss to Asian champions Gamba Osaka. However, Al-Khatib confirmed that Ahli players have enough technical and mental experience to win the game and claim the World Cup's fifth place. The journalist also said that Ahli's latest trainings suggest benchwarmers Hani Al-Egeizi and Hussein Yasser might feature at some part of the game.
