Palmeiras is close to achieving what is their big goal. The alviverde team is a finalist in the World Cup, in the United Arab Emirates, classification obtained this Tuesday (8), with a 2-0 victory over Al Ahly, from Egypt.
It was a good game for Abel Ferreira’s men at the Al Nahyan stadium in Abu Dhabi. Raphael Veiga and Dudu took turns in the roles of waiter and scorer, commanding the triumph of the South American champion over the African champion.
The decision is scheduled for Saturday (12), also in Abu Dhabi, but at the Mohammed Bin Zayed stadium. The opponent will be defined this Wednesday (9) and will come out of the clash between English Chelsea, European champion, and Saudi Al Hilal, Asian champion.
It will be the chance for Palmeiras to achieve the title they have been chasing for years. In the last edition, in Qatar, the Brazilian team left the competition without scoring a goal, losing to the Mexican Tigres in the semifinal and to Al Ahly himself in the dispute for third place.
This time, the alviverde formation knew how to impose itself on the Africans. With a good presence of their fans, mostly in Al Nahyan, they pressured the rival’s ball out from the beginning and quickly established themselves in the attacking field.
It was difficult, however, to overcome the block set by Pitso Mosimane. In practice, the 3-5-2 formed by the South African coach turned into a 5-3-2. Abel Ferreira’s athletes rotated the ball in search of space, which was rare.
Palmeiras took more danger squeezing the risky ball outs of the Egyptians than actually building plays. And that’s how the goal came out, in the 39th minute. After tackling in the attacking field, Dudu left Raphael Veiga in front of the goalkeeper. He didn’t fail.
The Africans had a clear bet on counterattacks, which did not materialize in the first 45 minutes. So, after the break, they had to get the game, gave up the spaces they hadn’t previously offered, and paid the price.
At four minutes into the second half, Veiga found a beautiful back-heel pass to Dudu, who advanced freely on the right, invaded the area and hit a strong shot at Ali Latfy’s right angle.
Only at two goals down did Al Ahly begin to attack with greater danger. He even hit the net, in Weverton’s ugly failure, but the video system pointed out Sherif’s offside. At 35, Ashraf was sent off for a hard tackle on Ron. Then the chances of reaction are gone.
Palmeiras, thus, sees the next cup they dream of so much. The club’s performance is already much better than last year, in its first attempt at the current World Cup format. Before, in 1999, he lost the intercontinental title to Manchester United.
The failures made Alviverde fans live with a growing mockery that they do not have a world title – although many of them consider the triumph in the 1951 Copa Rio an achievement of this magnitude. Now, they are one victory away from burying the provocations.
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