Cairo: Europe and Arabs
The Egyptian Al-Ahly team will host its Emirati counterpart Al-Ain this evening, Tuesday, at Cairo International Stadium, in the quarter-finals of the Intercontinental Cup for Clubs, where Al-Ahly, the representative of the African continent, and its counterpart Al-Ain, the Asian Champions League champion.
Al-Ahly dreams of winning today and also winning the upcoming match against Pachuca of Mexico to reach the final match against Real Madrid for the first time in its history, as it previously obtained third place four times and fourth place, while it has not been able to achieve the achievement of second place so far. Arab teams have previously reached the final, such as Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia and Raja of Morocco.
At the same time, Al-Ain team has the same dream of achieving an achievement by winning today and advancing, even if at least obtaining third place, and why not reaching the final as well, as all possibilities are valid for both teams.
Marketing value of Al-Ahly and Al-Ain of the Emirates
The marketing value of Al-Ain players amounts to 48.82 million euros, according to the global website "Transfer Market", an increase of more than 18 million over Al-Ahly.
Sofiane Rahimi and Abu Ali are the most expensive in Al-Ahly and Al-Ain
The value of Al-Ahly players reaches about 30.88 million euros, as the Palestinian Wissam Abu Ali, the striker of the "Red Giant", tops the list of the most expensive among his colleagues with 3 million.
On the other hand, the Moroccan Sofiane Rahimi, the top scorer in the AFC Champions League last season, tops the list of the most expensive in Al-Ain with 8 million euros.
Turkish whistle to manage the Al-Ahly and Al-Ain classico
The Al-Ahly and Al-Ain match tonight will be led by a Turkish refereeing crew led by Miller Khalil Umut, assisted by the duo Oyarkan Ibrahim Caglar and Kurbay Murat Togberk, while Kucuk Zorbay will be the fourth referee in the anticipated summit.
While the Italian Di Bello Marco will be on the video assistant technology "VAR", and will be assisted by his compatriot Di Paolo Aleandro.
Al-Ahly and Al-Ain UAE's journey
The Red Devils are participating in the Intercontinental Cup after winning the African Champions League in the last edition 2023-2024, while Al-Ain UAE is participating in the tournament as the Asian champion.
Al-Ain qualified to face Al-Ahly in the 2024 Intercontinental Club Cup after beating Auckland City of New Zealand at home at Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium (6-2) in the preliminary round.
Al-Ahly has not lost to Emirati clubs before facing Al-Ain
This will be the fifth time that Al-Ahly will face two Emirati teams, and Al-Ain will be the fourth Emirati club to meet Al-Ahly, after Al-Nasr, Al-Wahda and Al-Wasl.
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