MIAMI, Florida – The Seattle Sounders will kick off their 2022 FIFA Club World Cup campaign this Saturday in the Second Round against Al Ahly of Egypt in Tangier, Morocco.

On Wednesday, the 2021-22 Confederation of African Football (CAF) Champions League winners topped Oceania Football Confederation champions Auckland City of New Zealand 3-0 in the First Round to set up Saturday’s Second Round showdown.

Speaking in a press conference shortly after Wednesday’s opening match of the FCWC, Sounders DF Alex Roldan came away impressed by what he saw from the African champions.

“We saw the full game. They’re an experienced team in this tournament, so we know what they can bring. Against Auckland they showed that they can play through things, but we think we can exploit them in some things,” said Roldan.

“They are very dangerous on the counter, they like to whip in a lot of balls, so we have to be strong on the back line to make sure we don’t give them anything easy. If they are going to score on us, they are going to have to earn it. We’re definitely going to have to prepare for an intense game, but I think we can catch them on the counter and look to unbalance them that way,” added Roldan.

Al Ahly are no strangers to the FCWC, as they are making their eighth appearance in the tournament. The Egyptian side have finished in Third-Place on three different occasions (2006, 2020, 2021), including in 2006 when they topped Mexico’s Club America 2-1 in the Third Place Match.

History also indicates that Saturday’s affair will be decided by the narrowest of margins. In 12 encounters between teams from Concacaf and CAF at the FCWC, Concacaf own a slim 6W-1D-5L advantage.

Roldan expects a similarly tight contest on Saturday, especially knowing the danger posed by Al Ahly’s dangerous forward line.

“I saw their attacking players and their quality, their movements. They are very good about moving behind the defensive line, so it will be important for us to not allow that space and close that space and give confidence to our goalkeeper that we are limiting their chances and then we can grow in the match,” concluded Roldan.