Pyramids FC march to easy FIFA Intercontinental Cup victory

African club champions Pyramids FC encountered little trouble as they progressed to the quarterfinals of the FIFA Intercontinental Cup on Sunday with a routine 3-0 victory over Auckland City of New Zealand.

Walid El Karti opened the scoring inside fifteen minutes at the 30 June Stadium in Cairo before second half goals from Marwan Hamdi and Mostafa Ziko finished off the part-timers from New Zealand. Auckland could only manage one shot attempt for the entire match while Pyramids dominated possession and created numerous opportunities.

A strong start left the hosts up in the 15th minute when Brazilian attacker Ewerton’s cross found El Karti at the far post, leaving the Moroccan midfielder with an easy finish.

Auckland, who impressed despite insurmountable odds at the FIFA Club World Cup during the summer with a shocking 1-1 draw against Argentina’s Boca Juniors, had no miraculous result in them on Sunday. The OFC confederation representatives did well to keep the deficit at one goal for the majority of the match but posed no threat.

Ziko completed the scoring in the 85th minute after Hamdi nodded home Mohamed Hamdi’s cross in the 74th minute. Pyramids will now travel to Saudi Arabia where they will face Al Ahli Saudi in the quarterfinals in Jeddah on September 24 in a match labeled the “African-Asian-Pacific Cup”.

The other quarterfinal on December 10 will see Mexican club Cruz Azul face the winner of South America’s 2025 Copa Libertadores in the “Derby of the Americas”, yet to be determined. Whoever comes out on top will face European champions Paris Saint-Germain, who received a bye to the final, which is scheduled for December 17 at a venue to be determined.

The Intercontinental Cup is the successor to the former FIFA Club World Cup which took place on a yearly basis. The FIFA Club World Cup is now a quadrennial tournament in the style of the FIFA Club World Cup which made its debut over the summer this year.

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