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The Seattle Sounders had a short experience as Major League Soccer’s first representative at the Club World Cup after a 1-0 loss to Al Ahly Saturday eliminated them from the competition, but it was still a performance to remember for the Cascadia club. Coming out of the gates, it was clear that Al Ahly was the team in the middle of their season, in rhythm and creating early chances but the Sounders were able to rebound settling into the match. Neither team could test the keepers until late on, however, when Mohamed Afsha scored the eventual winner from outside the box to avoid extra time and secure a date with Real Madrid.
As the match wore on, it became clear which team is undefeated and in the middle of their season and which was only playing their third match of 2023 and first competitive match before the MLS season kicks off on February 26. The second half was a disjointed one, but to Seattle’s credit, despite the scheduling challenges, they still came to the Club World Cup and competed like a team that was supposed to be there.
Al Ahly has a potent attack. After rolling over Auckland City in their first match and squeaking by the Sounders they’ve now scored four goals in the tournament but the Egyptian side’s goal Saturday came their only shot on target against the Sounders, a deflected one at that. Unfortunately, one shot is all that it took to see the Sounders out of the competition.
It brings up familiar schedule issues that MLS has faced before. The league runs from February through November or December instead of on a traditional August through May schedule. With the travel and weather constraints in America, there are fair…
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