Al-Ahly vs Palmeiras, Time to Steal First Victory

NEW JERSEY, WEDNESDAY — The Egyptian team, Al-Ahly, and the Brazilian team, Palmeiras, both managed to bring home only one point as they began their journey in the 2025 Club World Cup. The nervous and inconsistent performance in their opening match should no longer be an excuse when the two teams meet in the second match. This is the moment for either Al-Ahly or Palmeiras to seize their first victory to open up opportunities for advancing to the next round.

Al-Ahly, the holder of 107 domestic titles in Egypt, will challenge the South American favorites, Palmeiras, in Group A at MetLife Stadium, New Jersey, United States, on Thursday (19/6/2025) at 23:00 WIB. Victory is essential for both teams if they wish to create a chance to advance to the round of 16.

Both Al-Ahly and Palmeiras started the tournament with the same result, namely a goalless draw. They were plagued by nerves and the inconsistency typically experienced in the first match of a major tournament.

Al-Ahly played to a draw in a monotonous match against Inter Miami. Only the actions of each goalkeeper elicited admiration and simultaneously saved their respective teams.

Palmeiras was held to a draw by Porto after failing to convert several opportunities, including the best chance from their young player, Estevao Willian. Despite this, they displayed dominance with 17 shots.

With the goalless draw, all four teams in Group A have collected one point each. This means that none of the four teams can secure their advancement to the next round in the second match. However, this match will determine their chances moving forward.

The match between Al-Ahly and Palmeiras is intriguing not only because both teams will fiercely compete for their first victory. This duel should also serve as a stage for two teams that have demonstrated impressive performances in recent years.

Under the guidance of coach Abel Ferreira, Palmeiras has won the Serie A, the top division of Brazilian football, in 2022 and 2023, the Copa do Brasil in 2020, and two consecutive Copa Libertadores titles in 2020 and 2021. The team from Sao Paulo is currently in fourth place in the Serie A at the beginning of the March-December 2025 season.

Palmeiras possesses tactical flexibility and is capable of attacking and defending in various forms. Their defense is also solid, as evidenced by a record of eight clean sheets in the last 11 matches. This will be their strength against Al-Ahly, which has an equal record in their two previous encounters.

"We are not extraordinary in one very specific thing, but we are good at everything," said coach Ferreira to FIFA.

"We are good and balanced in terms of positioning, attacking football. We are good and balanced in playing counter-attacking football, we are good in set pieces, we are good at pressuring the opponent and complicating things for them with our defensive structure," he stated again.

In addition, Palmeiras is also strengthened by young talents, such as Estevao William. In the first match against Porto, Estevao did not yet shine. However, the player born in 2007 is likely to strive to make a real impact on the team as this will be his last appearance before joining Chelsea at the end of this season.

However, Al-Ahly is not an easy opponent either. Palmeiras striker, Paulinho, believes that Al-Ahly will strive to put up a strong fight, as demonstrated when facing Inter Miami. "We have seen a bit of their performance. They are a team that creates many opportunities and has fast players in attack. They posed many problems for Inter Miami," said Paulinho.

Al-Ahly has also consistently performed well in the previous annual format of the Club World Cup. The team, now coached by Jose Riveiro, has always finished third in four editions of the tournament over the past decade.

Riveiro stated that against Palmeiras, his team must avoid making the same mistakes as they did in the match against Inter Miami. To that end, the coaching staff is working on an analysis to ensure that a similar situation does not occur again.