https://arab.news/vu6gf
- Jeddah club eliminated from tournament after they lost 3-1 to Al-Ahly of Egypt
JEDDAH: 鈥淪urprising,鈥� 鈥渟tunning鈥� and 鈥渄isappointing鈥� were just some of the words used by Al-Ittiahd fans in Jeddah two days after elimination from the FIFA Club World Cup by Egypt鈥檚 Al-Ahly.
The club鈥檚 supporters, who watched their team take on the African champions from King Abdulla Stadium, Jeddah鈥檚 fan zones and cafes, had high expectation of reaching the semifinals. The eventual 3-1 loss left them deflated and frustrated.
鈥淒isappointing is the short answer,鈥� Ahmed Al-Othman, a longtime supporter of Al-Ittihad, told Arab News. 鈥淎t the same time, they were really bad all game. We had all kinds of ways to win, we have great international players, but unfortunately they disappointed their fans and country, the host.鈥�
Most of the fans that Arab News interviewed shared a common thought; that the team didn鈥檛 prepare adequately for such a major tournament.
Some have less confidence in the upcoming matches in the Saudi Pro League and AFC Champions League than others, but 20-year-old Zaki Abdulghani is still optimistic.
He told Arab News that the team gave its best shot but they can come back in the next matches.
鈥淚 agree, we are all frustrated and feel angry but this is not the end. We have tough matches coming up and we as supporters should stand by our team,鈥� Abdulghani said.
鈥淚 feel so confident that we鈥檙e going to turn it around, learn from Friday鈥檚 mistakes and we鈥檙e going to just do great the rest of the season,鈥� he added.
Meanwhile, Omar Kamly, a sports analyst, blamed the club鈥檚 administration for not preparing well for the FIFA Club World Cup 2023.
鈥淵es, the president and his staff didn鈥檛 really manage the preparation of this tournament and also they should have signed new international players to add some strength to the squad,鈥� he said.
鈥淲e feel bad because 抖阴短视频 is the host of this edition and the football sector is going through a booming period. Therefore, we should have been much better in presenting our country,鈥� Kamly said.
On social media, Al-Ittihad supporters were equally stunned by the loss.
Mohammed Abu Gazal posted on his X account: 鈥淚t was really a shocking loss for us as fans and we feel really bad. We had high expectations for our players but they disappointed us.鈥�
Another supporter, Saud Al-Ghamdi, said: 鈥淚 believe most of the Saudi fans in general, and especially Al-Ittihad fans, are overcome with sadness and frustration because of the bad performance of our players.鈥�