Urawa Red Diamonds and Al Ahly will face each other on the morning of this Friday, December 22, 2023, starting at 11:30 am, in the fight for 3rd place in the FIFA Club World Cup. The duel will be played at the Prince Abdullah al-Faisal Stadium, in the city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Urawa Red Diamonds
Champions of the Asian Champions League, the Urawa Red Diamonds team represents Japanese football and arrives as underdogs to secure a place on the tournament’s podium.
However, the team is used to being undervalued in its odds, but it has already proven its value by defeating Leon in the quarter-finals of the competition, when it overcame the Mexicans by a slim score of 1-0, showing a high level of performance from the midfield.
In the semi-finals, the Japanese team faced the powerful Manchester City, representing European football, and despite having managed to nullify the English attack for 45 minutes, the Japanese team scored an own goal in stoppage time of the first stage and were unable to avoid defeat by the score of 3×0, being completely dominated without offering any danger to the opposing defense throughout the 90 minutes.
There were 3 wins, no draws and only 2 defeats in the last 5 times that the Urawa Red Diamonds team entered the field officially during the season.
During this period, the Japanese team came out on top by beating Wuhan Three Towns, Sapporo and Leon, in addition to losing to Hanol FC and also to Manchester City.
Al Ahly
Al Ahly, on the other hand, is the great champion of the African continent and represents Egyptian football in this Club World Cup.
The team has a very aggressive playing style, but it also leaves a lot of space in the defense, which has provided duels with many shots and clear scoring opportunities.
Their debut in the tournament was a beautiful 3-1 victory over Al-Ittihad, completely dominating the Saudi team without giving their rivals a chance to react and, therefore, guaranteeing a place in the semi-finals.
However, the Egyptian team even performed well in the semi-finals, against Fluminense, but suffered from a lack of aim in the finals and was unable to find the net against the Brazilian team, who defeated them by a score of 2-0 to relegate Al Ahly for the 3rd place dispute.
Only 1 win, 3 draws and 1 defeat were recorded in the last 5 times that the Al Ahly team entered the field officially this season, beating Al-Ittihad and drawing with Belouizdad, Young Africans and also with Smouha, in addition to losing to Fluminense.
Conclusion:
Despite the Japanese’s commendable defensive application, Al Ahly arrives with slight favoritism for this match due to the good performances presented previously, even in the defeat to Fluminense, making it an interesting bet for this Friday.