River Plate miss chance to reach FIFA Club World Cup final
UAE home team Al Ain caused a shock when they held River Plate to a 2-2 draw in 120 minutes and won 5-4 in the semi-final penalty shootout.
Goals: Marcus Berg 3', Caio 51' - Borre 11', 16'
UAE domestic champions Al Ain brought joy to their fans in the third minute when they opened the scoring early. After a corner kick from the right wing, striker Marcus Berg headed the ball into the near corner, beating goalkeeper Franco Armani.
|
River Plate (blue shirt) soon received a cold shower from the home team. Photo:Reuters |
River Plate were less enthusiastic than they had been in the Copa Libertadores final second leg nine days earlier (a 3-1 win over Boca Juniors). The South American champions only managed two goals in return through Rafael Santos Borre, before making a series of mistakes. One of them was an indecisive marking in the 51st minute, when Caio shone with a powerful shot into the near corner to level the score at 2-2 for Al Ain.
River Plate also had bad luck when attacking in the second half, Borre had two shots hit goalkeeper Khalid Essa, and Gonzalo Martinez had a penalty hit the crossbar in the 68th minute.
Martinez's miss was the harbinger of a penalty shootout tragedy for River Plate. After 120 minutes ended in a 2-2 draw, Al Ain scored all five penalties, while Enzo Perez missed the Argentine side's final penalty.
|
Goalkeeper Essa blocked Perez's shot (inset) and was hailed as a hero. |
With a surprise win, Al Ain reached the final of the FIFA Club World Cup for the first time. This is also the first time a Middle Eastern team has competed in the FIFA Club World Cup.
Al Ain only qualified for the FIFA Club World Cup thanks to the UAE hosting this year’s tournament. To reach the semi-finals, coach Zoran Mamic’s team had to overcome Wellington (3-3 in 120 minutes, 4-3 on penalties) in the first round and Esperance (3-0) in the second round. Meanwhile, River Plate went straight to the semi-finals as Copa Libertadores champions.
Al Ain's opponent in the final will be the winner of the Real Madrid - Kashima Antlers match, which will take place on the evening of December 19. Two years ago, Real beat Kashima 4-2 in the final in Japan.
