Ramón Díaz shows in the Club World Cup: he put Al-Hilal in the semifinals and winked at the River fans in the preview

“Given the conditions in which the team finds itself, I think we will pass the first game”, he predicted, with unlimited confidence, Ramon Angel Diaz. The reference was to the duel that his team, al hilalI was going to argue with wydad for the quarterfinals of Club World Cup. The prognosis of the linguist from La Rioja came true, albeit not without suffering: the Saudis prevailed 5-3 on penalties after drawing 1-1 with the Moroccans in Rabat and thus progressed to the semi-finals of this match. in the Champions League final. fourth in the previous two holdings, in 2019 and 2021. They will meet Flamengo in Tangier on Tuesday for a ticket to the final.

It was full of security I strip on the eve of Al-Hilal’s debut in the competition, the team he has led since February 2022, which he had already managed between October 2016 and February 2018, and with which he won four titles in his two cycles: three Saudi championships (2017, 2018 and 2022) and a Champions Cup from the Custody of the Two Holy Mosques (2017).

“This is the biggest club in Asia. We are in a super competitive team, which allows you to choose the players you want and also gives you the chance to win,” she assured in an interview published on the official website of the club. Fifain which he had also highlighted, with his usual self-celebratory rhetoric, his work in Saudi Arabia and had been optimistic about his team’s chances at this race.

In that speech, in which he also reflected on the yields of Lionel Messi AND Enzo Fernández inside Qatar World Cup and analyzing the performance of the Saudi team in that tournament, Díaz did not deprive himself of recalling the 2018 Libertadores final. “For all the fans it was incredible. River has shown the full potential of her. He was far superior to Boca in every aspect, tactically, dynamically, he beat them very well and we will always remember him.”Shot.

The mischievous smiles and the joviality that he had shown in that speech were left in parentheses a few hours later, when his team, which had contributed 14 players to the Saudi national team that beat Argentina In the World Cup he had to work hard to get into the top four of the tournament he entered for winning the Champions League of the Asian Football Confederation in 2021 (when the Portuguese Leonardo Jardim was in charge).

Encouraged by an enthusiastic crowd that traveled the 86 kilometers between Casablanca and Rabat and filled the stands of the Prince Moulay Abdellah stadium (with a capacity of 46,000), Wydad, winner of the Champions League of the African Football Confederation, performed better tasks for a good part of the duel, but it wasn’t enough to reach the semifinals for the first time in his second participation in the Club World Cup (he finished sixth in 2017).

In the first half, the Moroccan side handled the ball better, especially when it passed through central midfielder Reda Jaadi’s feet, and generated the clearest approaches, without putting goalkeeper and captain Abdullah Al-Mayouf in serious difficulty. The riskiest were two mid-range shots from Jaadi and Yahya Jabrane that flew over the bar..

After a furious start by the Saudis in the second half, Wydad scores in the 6th minute: from a corner from the right by Jalal Daoudi, defender Ayoub El Amloud, very free on the edge of the small area, heads into the net and scores, shouts at the fans most successful club in the history of the Moroccan league (got 22 titles).

At a disadvantage, the Asian cast lost what little highlights they had shown thus far. With no responses from his starting team, Ramón contacted some of the strikers he had on the bench, including former Racing striker Luciano Vietto. But in Al-Hilal It was difficult for him to get close to the rival area and his attempts were limited to aimless blows. Everything seemed under Wydad’s control until, with two minutes remaining, Yahya Attiat-Allah flicked the ball in the box and Salvadoran referee Iván Barton awarded a penalty.

As if that weren’t enough, Moroccan captain Yahya Jabrane received two yellow cards in the long sequence of protests and fights that followed the sanction of the offense and he left his squad with ten men. Mohamed Kanno, in cold blood, scored the 1 to 1 and sent the definition of the duel to extra time.

The advantage in troop numbers, which was assumed to be a key factor in extra time for those led by Ramón, was short-lived, as Kanno was sent off very quickly due to an infringement against Ayman El Hassouni which was being analyzed by those in charge of the LAUNCH and which did not appear to be the cause of so severe a sentence. The resolution of the revised maneuver (and the argument) could be heard over the stadium’s loudspeakersin a new practice that was implemented in this context.

Against all odds, no one speculated or fell for the equalizer in extra time. With their limits behind them and with their bodies heavily decimated by the effort, the two teams directed the GPS towards the opponent’s goal and had chances of victory: the Malian Moussa Marega squandered the best of Al-Hilal and the Senegalese Bouly Sambou did not specify Wydad’s clearest. Thus, the transition to the semifinals was played on penalties.

In the battle of nerves from 11 meters, Ramón’s men were infallible and, thanks to Yahya Attiat-Allah’s shot that crashed into the two posts in a very suggestive carom, they were left with the ticket to face Flamengo. Just then the I strip He was able to smile again, as he had done a few hours earlier remembering the final between River and Boca in Madrid.