Al Kass U17 International Cup – Day 3

Barcelona (3) Al Ahly (0)

Barcelona kicked off their participation in the Al Kass U17 International Cup on Tuesday with an impressive 3-0 win over Egyptian club Al Ahly.

The tournament brings together eight club sides from all over the world, in addition to Aspire Qatar and Aspire international teams.

The Egyptian side suffered a heavy defeat in their opening game of Group B, a couple of days ago, when they lost 9-0 to French club PSG, and another defeat was expected when they faced the Catalonian giants.

Jordi Ortega opened the score after 30 minutes with a beautifully curled free kick, and it turned out to be the only goal in the first half.

Maxi Rolon had a good game with a number of impressive runs on the right flank. His crosses were a constant threat and from one of them in the 80^th minute, substitute Joel Huertas headed in Barca’s second.

Two minutes later, Al Ahly’s defense were unable to clear another cross from Rolon, and the ball reached Munir Al Haddadi who sent a wonderful left foot shot into the top corner leaving no chance the goalkeeper Ahmed Al Bassyouny.

Man Of The Match - Munir Al Haddadi

With only three clubs in this group, the upcoming clash between Barcelona and PSG on Thursday will decide the group winner who will advance to the semi-finals.

Watch the match highlights

Kashima Antlers (3) Al Jazirah (1)

In Group A, Kashima Antlers produced another great performance as they defeated UAE’s Al Jazirah 3-1 to secure a spot in the semifinals.

The Japanese side won their opening game against Italian club Juventus with the same score, while Al Jazirah suffered their second straight defeat after they were hammered 4-0 by Aspire Qatar on the opening day. The top two teams in this group will be awarded semifinals spots.

Masaki Takada put his team in front after only 7 minutes heading in Sho Abe’s pinpoint cross, but Ahmed Al Hashmi leveled the score from the spot in the 30^th minute.

Takahiro Honda, one of the heroes in the first game against Juventus, showed great skill on the left hand side before crossing the ball to Abe, who made no mistake heading the ball into the net in the 58^th minute.

Less than 10 minutes later, Honda made a space for himself before sending a terrific right foot shot from the edge of the area, past Al Jazirah’s keeper Ahmed Abdul Rahman, to secure maximum points for the Antlers.

Watch the match highlights