
Bayern's goalkeeper Manuel Neuer walks on the pitch prior to the start of the German Bundesliga soccer match between FC Schalke 04 and Bayern Munich in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, Sunday, Jan. 24, 2021. (AP)
Bayern Munich Keeper and Skipper Manuel Neuer says facing Egypt's Ahly won't be an easy mission if the Cairo giants manage to reach the FIFA Club World Cup semis.
The African Champions, Ahly, will play Qatari hosts Al-Duhail in the quarter finals on Thursday at Education City stadium in Qatar and the winner will face European Champions Bayern Munich at the semifinals.
"Right now we are still focused on the Bundesliga, but we will prepare for that match in due course," the 34-year-old Bayern keeper told FIFA.com on Tuesday.
"We know Ahly; they won the African Champions League, so it would not be an easy mission like it was in 2013," he added.
In their last appearance at the prestigious tournament, Bayern Munich won the FIFA Club World Cup title in 2013 after beating Morocco's Raja Casablanca 2-0 in the final.
Ahly met Bayern Munich twice before in two friendly matches; the first was in 1977 and ended with a 2-1 win for the Egyptian team while the second was in 2012 and ended with a 2-1 victory for the Bavarians.
On Monday, Ahly Skipper Mohamed El-Shennawi said he hopes to reach the semi finals in order to meet Bayern's counterpart Neuer and then move on to win the trophy for the first time in the African continent's history.
"I want to meet Manuel Neuer, my goal is to win the title and If we want to be world champions, we’ll need to stick together and be a unit," El-Shenawi told FIFA’s official website.
Ahly have made five previous appearances at the Club World Cup, the last of which was in 2013. Their best result was a third-place finish at the 2006 edition that was held in Japan.
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