Al-Ittihad succeeded in crossing the gate of Auckland City in the preliminary round of the Club World Cup, after defeating it 3-0 at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium, “The Radiant Jewel.”
The level differences were clear in favor of Ittihad from the beginning of the match, and after a series of wasted opportunities, Romarinho was able to score the first goal for coach Marcelo Gallardo's squad in the 29th minute.
Quickly, N'Golo Kante scored the second goal in the 34th minute, before Karim Benzema ended the New Zealand team's hopes of a comeback by scoring the third goal in the 41st minute.
This was Karim Benzema's historic fifth goal in the Club World Cup, and it tied him with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez in third place as the World Cup's all-time top scorers in 6 appearances (5 with Real Madrid and one with Al-Ittihad).
With this result, Al-Ittihad sets a date with Al-Ahly of Egypt in the quarter-finals, in a repeat of their famous confrontation in the 2005 Club World Cup in Japan, during which the Saudi club achieved victory with Mohamed Nour’s famous goal.
The match is scheduled to be held next Friday evening, at exactly eight o’clock in the evening, Egypt time, nine o’clock Saudi time, at the Radiant Jewel Stadium in Jeddah.
It remains to be noted that the winner of the Al-Ahly and Al-Ittihad match will meet Fluminense in the semi-finals next Sunday.
Video: Goals from the match between Al-Ittihad and Auckland City in the 2023 Club World Cup
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