Seattle Sounders knocked out of the FIFA Club World Cup
Seattle Sounders are out of the Club World Cup
Seattle Sounders are now out of the FIFA Club World Cup. The MLS club lost 1-0 to Al Ahly on Saturday while playing in Morocco.
It was late in the match when a shot from Mohamed Magby took a deflection from Alex Roldan and ended up in the back of the net. This result sent the Egyptian side to the third round while the Americans were sent packing.
Seattle Sounders became the first MLS side to feature in the competition this year. Earning a spot by winning the CONCACAF Champions League, their road to glory was cut short by their African counterparts.
What did manager Schmetzer have to say?
Despite the loss, coach Brian Schmetzer sounded proud and content with where his side had reached.
While speaking to Fox Sports, Schmetzer said, “I thought we were good, we were evenly matched.”
“We make one little half a mistake, little error – give the ball away in that part of the field. They hit the crossbar. We have a chance to clear. It drops to the player, and he shoots, Alex tries to block it, and it goes into the goal. That’s really unfortunate after all the effort the players put in.”
MLS follows a different calendar compared to Europe, thus, this game counts as a pre-season match for the Sounders who kick off their season on February 26. This gives the Sounders at least a few weeks of preparation before they take on the Colorado Rapids at home.
Schmetzer added: “The guys are pretty determined. They understand that things happen. They do not want this to put a damper on the regular season. We have the next objective.”
Seattle will look to learn from their mistakes and improve their squad ahead of next season. This season, the Rave Green will be looking to dominate the MLS. Especially when last season, Schmetzer’s men struggled in the league while focusing on the Champions League. In the end, they finished 11th, accumulating just 42 points in 34 games.
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