France’s N’Golo Kante, a member of the Saudi itthad of Jeddah , warned his team-mates of the difficulty of the upcoming match against Al-Ahli Egyptian, after overcoming the Auckland City hurdle in New Zealand with an unanswered treble, in the opening of the 2023 Club World Cup.
Al Ahli meets the itthad of jeddah at 9pm on Friday, Makkah Time, in the first round of the Club World, at the Jeddah Radioactive Jewel Stadium.
“We played a great game, the team made an excellent effort, in the first half we played very well,” Kante said in remarks published on the official website of the Asian Football Federation.
“Our defence was strong, so we kept a clean sheet, but that was thanks to the collective effort.”
He added: “We deserve to win, and this will give us confidence in the next game, certainly the eligible did not play in this tour, so we must recover well.”
He concluded by stressing: “Al Ahly is a good team and they are African champions, and therefore we must expect a strong match, and we must prepare as best as possible.”
Al-Ahli did not play in the preliminary round, according to the tournament regulations and match schedule, which placed the winner from Etihad and Auckland City against the African champions in the quarter-finals, giving the Egyptian team a “physical” preference, according to Kante.
