Pachuca v Al Ahly: Heartache for Egyptian giants as they miss out on chance to face Real Madrid in final

With the game goalless at the end of 90 minutes and extra time, the game was decided on penalties, with the Mexican club prevailing 6-5

Pachuca's Salomon Rondon lifts the trophy after winning the Fifa Challenger Cup with a penalty shoot-out victory over Egypt's Al Ahly. Reuters

Egypt's Al Ahly suffered heartache on Saturday as defeat to Pachuca denied them a chance to face Real Madrid in Wednesday's Intercontinental Cup final.

With the game goalless at the end of 90 minutes and extra time, the outcome was decided on penalties, with the Mexican club prevailing 6-5.

After a series of saves and misses in the shoot-out, Khaled Abdelfattah hit the bar with Ahly's final attempt to Egyptian dismay.

Pachuca become only the second Concacaf team to reach the final of the competition against European champions Real, which takes place at the Lusail Stadium in Qatar.

Neither team could find the net in 120 minutes, with Pachuca struggling to create any real chances after an exciting first half in which the Egyptians dominated possession.

Pachuca's Carlos Moreno made a number of fine saves to deny the Africans the lead and, despite adjustments and substitutions by both coaches, the match went to extra time and penalties.

Pachuca started the shoot-out poorly as Salomon Rondon's effort was saved by Mohamed El Shenawy and Borja Baston missed.

All was not lost, however, as Mahmoud Kahraba's shot was later saved by Moreno and Omar Kamal's spot kick went wide.

Faber Gil put the Mexicans 6-5 ahead and nerves were frayed when Abdelfattah saw his effort smack the bar to send the African champions crashing out.

“It was life or death, it was crucial,” Moreno told Fifa's TV channel on his massive save from Kahraba in the shoot-out that turned the tide for his team.

"This is a team game and my teammates took the rest of the penalties with a lot of character. That’s why we were able to come back in the shoot-out after complicating things by missing the first two. But the character of my teammates that executed the rest of them was incredible. It was storybook."

On the prospect of playing Spanish giants Real Madrid on Wednesday, Moreno added: "It is a dream, it gives you goosebumps,” said Moreno. “So many boyhood dreams and a road in which you’ve gone through many things. To face this type of team is a dream, I’m getting goosebumps right now. It’s exciting and we are going to go out defending ourselves with every tooth and nail, to defend our dreams, defend our fans and our institution.”

Pachuca coach Guillermo Almada said: "It was difficult, very complicated, especially because of the marathon game we played today. We'll try to get the players back on their feet and go into the game [final] with all the motivation in the world."

"Confidence is the last thing to die, we had confidence in our team, in the players who were going to score, in Carlos, who became the star, he deserved it," added midfielder Pedro Pedraza.

"We had an atypical tournament and he is the first to deserve it, because of him we won the championship [Concacaf Champions Cup]."

It is the Mexican side's fifth appearance at a Fifa competition. Their best performance came at the 2017 Club World Cup, held in the UAE, when they finished third.

Uefa Champions League holders Real are the most prolific Intercontinental Cup winners with five titles followed by fellow Spaniards Barcelona, Corinthians and Bayern Munich. Last year's trophy went to Manchester City.

In nine previous appearances in Fifa competitions, Ahly have claimed four bronze medals but never progressed beyond the semi-finals. Marcel Koller's men will now set their sights on next summer's Club World Cup.