Sudanese Al-Hilal completes its preparations to face Al-Ahly Egyptian in the quarter-finals of the African Champions Lea
29 March, 2025
(Sudanow)- The Sudanese Al-Hilal team is preparing to face its Egyptian counterpart, Al-Ahly, in the quarter-finals of the CAF Champions League.The first leg will take place at 9:00 PM on April 1 at Cairo International Stadium, while the return match will be held on April 8 in Mauritania. Al-Hilal qualified for the quarter-finals after collecting 10 points in the group stage, continuing its journey in the competition.
The Congolese Florent Ibenge, Al-Hilal's head coach, is working on preparing his players during the training camp currently being held in the capital, Tunis, in preparation for the match against Al-Ahly of Egypt. This comes as the team aims to be ready for potential challenges due to the absence of 12 international players participating with their national teams in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. Ibenge is focusing on preparing the substitutes to ensure they are fully physically and technically ready, anticipating any unexpected situations.
The friendly matches played by Al-Hilal on Tuesday evening provided important indicators for the coaching staff regarding the physical readiness of the players. Several players showed improvement, particularly Fares Abdullah, the only substitute on the left flank, who demonstrated a high level of performance. Additionally, the Mauritanian winger Mohamed Salem Mbarak stood out with an impressive display.
In press statements, the Secretary General of the Sudanese Al-Hilal Club confirmed that the team is continuing its intensive preparations to face Al-Ahly, through its participation in the Mauritanian League.
He explained that the team's current training camp in Tunis aims to prepare for the match against Al-Ahly, adding that Al-Hilal is striving to bring joy to the Sudanese people, who are going through difficult circumstances. He stressed that Al-Hilal respects Al-Ahly for its history and large fan base, but their ultimate goal is to win the CAF Champions League title.
It is worth mentioning that the Sudanese club Al-Hilal managed to advance from the group stage of the CAF Champions League, securing qualification to the quarter-finals with ten points, topping Group A. They finished five points clear of the runner-up, MC Alger.
Al-Hilal succeeded in advancing past the group stage, despite the difficult circumstances currently facing Sudanese football, due to the bloody war that has been raging between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces militia since mid-April 2023. This came after failing to qualify for the quarter-finals in previous years, especially since the team had participated in the group stage in previous editions.
One of the key factors that contributed to reaching this stage was the team's technical stability, as the "Blue" management gave full confidence to the Congolese coach Florent Ibenge to continue his work, while also supporting him with the best players, especially foreign players who have shown remarkable performances recently.
In addition, it succeeded in maintaining the most important pillars of the formation, most notably Mohamed El-Gharbal, and organized external training camps and friendly matches, despite the suspension of sports activities in Sudan for more than 20 months due to the war.
The desire of Al-Hilal players to progress further in the competition by winning matches and securing qualification to the next round was an important factor in achieving this success. This determination persisted despite the significant challenges they faced in recent months, including the suspension of the Sudanese league and constant travel from one country to another for training camps and friendly matches before finally settling in Mauritania.
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