Al-Ahly is looking forward to starting its journey in the African Confederation Cup in the best possible way, when it visits Uganda’s Kitara, the day after tomorrow (Saturday), in the first leg of the round of 32, setting its sights on competing strongly for the title, and adding a new championship to its continental coffers.
Al-Ahly, which won the Confederation Cup in 2014, returns to participate in this tournament after many years of continuous attendance in the African Champions League, which holds the record for the number of times it has won its title, after occupying third place in the local league last season.
Al-Ahly's official website stated that the team, which arrived in Uganda yesterday (Wednesday), held its first training session in preparation for the upcoming confrontation.
The club explained that the training was held at Hoima International Stadium, one of the stadiums being prepared to host the 2027 African Cup of Nations, and initially included light physical exercises to remove the effects of fatigue resulting from the travel trip, before moving on to the technical and tactical aspects of the match.
Al-Ahly had closed the local league file with an important moral victory over its traditional rival (Zamalek), a victory that gave the players a strong boost before the start of their continental career.
Coach Hussein Amouta called on his players to focus fully on the two matches against Kitara, in order to secure qualification early, and then return to complete their local journey.
The duo, Yasser Ibrahim and Amr El Gazzar, will continue to be absent from Al-Ahly’s ranks due to injury. This makes it likely that Moroccan defender Ashraf Dari will continue to be relied upon in the back line, after he gave a distinguished performance in the last match against Zamalek, in addition to his continental experience, which may represent an important addition to the team in the upcoming match.
In the same tournament competitions, ZFC, the second Egyptian representative in the Confederation, will host its rival, Azzam of Tanzania, tomorrow (Friday), in the first leg of the round of 32. Mohamed Shawky, ZFC’s coach, said that the team will enter a closed camp, today (Thursday), to increase the players’ focus and prepare them for the confrontation, as part of the final preparations for the match.
The technical staff seeks to prepare the team technically and tactically in the best possible way, while putting the final touches on the style of play, hoping to achieve a positive result that will give it an advantage before the return match.
Zed is playing its first African participation in its history, after it succeeded in reaching the round of 32 at the expense of Telekom Djibouti, winning the first leg (4-0) and tying the second leg (1-1), to qualify on aggregate (5-1).
Egyptian Zamalek is looking forward to overcoming the effects of its recent loss locally to its traditional rival, Al-Ahly, when it visits the Rwandan Army, tomorrow (Friday), in the first leg of the round of 32 of the African Champions League, while Pyramids, which won the continental title for the first time in its history in 2025, begins its campaign with an away match against Al-Merreikh Bentiu, representing South Sudan.
Zamalek is going into the confrontation in the Rwandan capital, Kigali, amid a state of caution in light of the pressure of the matches and the fatigue resulting from travel, in addition to the team’s desire to regain the confidence of its fans and return with a positive result that will facilitate its mission before the return match in Cairo.
The technical staff called on the players to fully concentrate and avoid any surprises that might complicate the team’s progress early in the tournament.
Coach Motamed Jamal is expected to join the team’s delegation today (Thursday), after he was delayed in traveling due to undergoing minor surgery based on medical recommendations.
Zamalek is missing the efforts of Moroccan Mahmoud Bentaek, who is suffering from a torn posterior muscle that will keep him out for several weeks, and the trio of Amr Nasser, Mohamed Ibrahim and Mohamed El-Sayed are also absent due to injury.
On the other hand, the team will regain the services of the duo, Uday Al-Dabbagh and Adam Kayed, after they recovered from a cold that prevented them from participating in Al-Ahly’s last match. On the same day, Pyramids begins its campaign in this year’s edition by facing Al-Merrikh Bentiu at Juba International Stadium in South Sudan, in the first leg of the round of 32.
The team enters the match in high spirits, after continuing its strong start in the local league, achieving full marks, the most recent of which was the great victory over Ceramica Cleopatra in four.
Pyramids hopes to achieve a comfortable result outside its stadium that will give it a clear advantage before the return leg, benefiting from the state of technical stability and confidence that the team has gained after its recent successes locally and continentally.
The team's list witnesses the absence of the trio Hamed Hamdan, Mahmoud Gad and Osama Jalal due to injury, while the technical staff is counting on the rest of its members to resolve the task and move a new step closer to successfully continuing the continental journey.
Serbian Vuk Razovic, Al-Taawoun coach, confirmed that the victory over Al-Rayyan of Qatar in the AFC Champions League 2 represents a positive step in the technical work process, indicating that the players have begun to translate some of the ideas that the technical staff is working on during training into tangible performance on the field, despite his acknowledgment that the team still has a lot of work to do to reach the level it aspires to.
Razovic praised the level presented by his players during the confrontation, stressing that the victory came against a strong competitor, in a match that required careful technical preparation and tactical commitment from all players, who succeeded in implementing important parts of the plan drawn up before the match.
Razovic explained that the technical staff dealt with the match against Al Rayyan according to special preparations, after working on studying the strengths and weaknesses of the opponent, in addition to choosing a style of play that suits the requirements of the match, which was reflected in the team’s performance and the players’ ability to adhere to the technical directions.
In response to what was raised about Al-Taawoun relying on a defensive plan during the confrontation, Razovic presented his technical vision, stressing that the evaluation of tactical plans differs from one person to another, and that playing in a defensive style in some matches does not necessarily mean abandoning offensive ambition, but rather it may be the most appropriate option to deal with the opponent according to the circumstances of the match.
He said: “In football, everyone sees it from his personal vision, and although we played with a defensive plan, I see it as an offensive plan, and from my experience, you sometimes have to play with a defensive plan.”
In turn, Mourinho, coach of the Qatari team, acknowledged the difficulty of the confrontation that brought his team together, pointing out that his team did not start the match in the desired manner, despite its success in adjusting the result, before things became complicated during the second half.
Mourinho said during the press conference after the match: “We congratulate the cooperation. Frankly, we did not start well, and we equalized the score, and in the second half the match became difficult for us.”
The Al Rayyan coach explained that he expected his team to emerge victorious, but football does not always go according to expectations, stressing the need to overcome the result of the confrontation and focus on the next victory, in an attempt to restore balance and return to the path of victories.
He added: “This is football, and I thought we would win, but we have to think about the next match.”
He said: “I know cooperation well, and its victory is not surprising, but sometimes things do not go well.”
