All out for a place in the Club World Cup final | OneFootball

Real Madrid begin their quest to be crowned world champions in Morocco. The Whites are just two games away from making history by securing the Club World Cup for the eighth time in the team’s history. They first face Al-Ahly in the semi-finals (8pm CET) at the Prince Moulay Abdellah stadium with a place in Saturday’s final against Al Hilal at stake.

Ancelotti‘s men have fought hard to make it to the competition in Morocco for a chance to secure the trophy. “It's been a great journey to get here and we want to win the Club World Cup,” said Valverde in the press conference ahead of the clash.

Experience "Playing in the Club World Cup means we've done well", said Carlo Ancelotti. The Italian, who guided the madridistas to the title in the 2014 edition, also in Morocco, will be without Benzema, Courtois, Militão, Lucas Vázquez, Hazard and Mendy. But the squad boasts bundles of experience in the competition, as 13 players have secured the trophy”. Al-Ahly are participating in this Club World Cup as runners-up of the African Champions League, which was won by Moroccan side Wydad AC. But to ensure that there are not two teams from the same country (one of the places in the Club World Cup goes to the hosts), FIFA opted to award it to the runners-up of the African Confederation. Before meeting Real Madrid, the Egyptian side saw off Auckland (3-0) and Seattle Sounders (1-0). Tau, Mohamed Sherif, Elshanat and Afsha are the top scorers in this tournament for Al Ahly. The club has won the African Champions League the most times (10) and is the most successful in Egypt.

Previous meetings in Morocco The clash against the Egyptians will be Real Madrid's third official match in Morocco at the Club World Cup. The previous two came in the 2014/15 season, when they edged out Cruz Azul and San Lorenzo. Madrid will be aiming to take the first step towards clinching the title at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium tonight.