
Ahly vow reaction after Palmeiras loss leaves Club World Cup hopes in peril
Midfielder Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane said the Egyptian side would 'fight for every big and small detail' against Porto on 24 June as they chase a round-of-16 berth.
'We take responsibility; we must stay fully focused until the last second and go for the win,' he told ON Sport.
Ahly, who opened with a goalless draw against Inter Miami, are bottom of Group A on one point, level with third-placed Porto but behind on goal difference.
Palmeiras and Inter Miami each have four points, with the Brazilians on top based on goals scored.
Marwan Attia insisted the Cairo giants 'played well despite the loss' in steamy conditions at MetLife Stadium. 'After the game, we agreed to regain focus, prepare properly for Porto and aim for qualifying,' the midfielder said.
Striker Wessam Abou Ali rued an own goal that broke the deadlock minutes after the restart. 'It's the first time in my life I've scored at the wrong end – a horrible feeling,' he told FIFA.com. 'We were too stretched in the second half and handed them two easy goals. We need to analyse what went wrong.'
Winger Mahmoud Hassan 'Trezeguet' said the final fixture was 'our last chance', adding: 'Porto are a strong team, but so are we, and we will fight.'
Defender Ahmed Ramadan blamed misfortune for Al-Ahly's struggles, noting a missed penalty against Inter Miami and squandered chances versus Palmeiras. 'The coach wanted to attack, so he made four substitutions at once. We'll try to make up for it next match,' he said.
Left-back Karim El Debes echoed those sentiments. 'We've lacked luck in both games but still played well,' he said. 'We'll approach Porto with total concentration.'
Ahly have a grim Club World Cup record against Brazilian opposition, managing only one draw in seven meetings since 2006. Victory at MetLife in the early hours of Wednesday (04:00 Cairo time) is essential if they are to avoid their earliest exit at the expanded 32-team tournament.
Find more details on group standings, match schedules, and competition statistics.
(For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)
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