Ahly's coach Pitso Mosimane said on Wednesday his side are aiming to go as far as possible in the FIFA Club's World Cup, adding that he is aware the annual tournament is different than the Egyptian league and the CAF champions league.

The African champions will kick off their campaign with a tough clash against Qatari side Al Duhail on Thursday, with the winner taking on on European champions Bayern Munich in the semis.

"We came here because we are the African Champions. We have great confidence in ourselves and we aim to reach our maximum levels in the competition," Mosimane told the pre-match news conference.

“We have great determination and we will not leave the pitch unless we are totally satisfied with ourselves. We are keen to please our fans, as they always support us.

"We believe in our capabilties and I know that the competition will be different than the Egyptian league and the CAF champions League.

"We will confirm that we are here to perform, not to picnic," he added.

The South African coach expects a difficult test against Al Duhai, hailing the quality that his opponents boast among their ranks.

"We respect Al Duhail a lot, as they have many good players and they managed to win QNB Stars League. Also, they will play at their homeland and among their fans, besides that, they have many good foreign players," Mosimane said.

"The game will not be easy, but I have full confidence in my players and I promise our fans that we will do our best to meet their high expectations."

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.