Auckland City coach Albert Riera has wasted no time in reminding his players their next focus is to retain their New Zealand national title.
Minutes after losing to Al Ahly at the FIFA Club World Cup in Morocco, Riera said in his sideline interview:
“It’s sad to see the players very upset but that’s a good point as well. We’re going to keep going.”
He said the team would return to New Zealand for pre-season training with the aim of winning their national competition.
Of the 3-0 loss to Al Ahly, he said:
“We knew it was going to be very hard, you know, to play against a very well-drilled team.
“They were very organised.
“I think we held our own.
“It was very unfortunate to concede in the first half.
“I think we have to be very proud, we know where we are coming from, you know, an amateur team playing a massive team in Africa.
“The turning point is always the first goal, especially when it is late in the first half.”
READ MORE: Auckland City’s cup dream ends with 3-0 first round defeat to Egyptians >>>>
READ MORE: Our stories about Auckland City’s FIFA Club World Cup campaign >>>>
Result
Game played on Thursday February 2, 2023
Al Ahly 3 (Hussein El Shahat 45+2′, Mohamed Sherif 56′, Percy Tau 86′)
Auckland City 0
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