Group A action in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup concluded at MetLife Stadium with a goalfest on a hot Monday night, as Porto and Al Ahly FC drew 4-4 in front of an announced crowd of 39,893.
The fans who made the trip to East Rutherford, NJ, for the 9:00 pm ET kickoff witnessed an eight-goal thriller – and by far the most end-to-end game of the tournament yet – despite both teams failing to advance to the knockout round after Inter Miami and Palmeiras drew 2-2 in Miami Gardens, FL.
Here are four thoughts from the first-ever FIFA club competition fixture between teams from Portugal and Egypt.
Oliver Strand
Chaotic first half
Heading into Monday night's match, every team in Group A still had a chance to advance to the Round of 16 of the Club World Cup — Al Ahly and Porto both needed to win and needed help from Palmeiras, who would have to defeat Inter Miami to keep their tournament hopes alive.
Al Ahly started the game with more possession and an effective high press, which led to an opening goal in the 15th minute. Porto striker Danny Namaso played a back-pass to Stephen Eustáquio, but he slipped and gifted Al Ahly midfielder Hamdi Fathi acres of space. Fathi passed to Wessam Abou Ali, whose shot went off the post and in.
Wessam Abou Ali opens the scoring for Al Ahly | Courtesy DAZN Football
The impressive, but slightly lucky goal, was a redemption for Abou Ali, who scored an own goal last Thursday in his team's 2-0 defeat to Palmeiras.
But Porto, facing elimination, evened things eight minutes later after a moment of individual brilliance from 18-year-old Rodrigo Mora. The attacking midfielder, on the edge of the box, dribbled past two Al Ahly defenders and then put goalkeeper Mohamed El Shenawi on ice skates, slotting the ball into the open net.
Rodrigo Mora with the equalizer | Courtesy DAZN Football
Al Ahly responded with intensity, creating chance after chance, but couldn't capitalize. It wouldn't go to waste, though, as Arsenal midfielder Fábio Vieira — on loan at Porto — committed a foul leading to a penalty in first-half stoppage time.
Abou Ali sent Porto goalkeeper Cláudio Ramos the wrong way to notch a first-half brace, giving Al Ahly a 2-1 lead at halftime.
Al Ahly striker Wessam Abou Ali converts from the spot for a first-half brace, giving his team a 2-1 lead over Porto in first-half stoppage time.
— matthewmangam.bsky.social (@matthewmangam.bsky.social) Jun 23, 2025 at 9:49 PM
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An even more hectic second half
If the first half foreshadowed anything, the second half lived up to its expectations.
Trailing 2-1, Porto emerged from the locker room as the more eager team. Just three minutes into the second half, William Gomes tied things up with an edge-of-the-box curler.
William Gomes makes it 2-2 | Courtesy DAZN Football
But Al Ahly responded on the next possession, as Abou Ali completed his hat-trick with a great header.
Wessam Abou Ali completes the hat trick | Courtesy DAZN Football
Once again, Porto fired back. This time it was substitute Samuel Aghehowa, who rose the highest and rifled in a powerful header to leave El Shenawi flat-footed.
Samuel Aghehowa rifles home the header | Courtesy DAZN Football
With three goals in three minutes, the action did not stop there.
Al Ahly seemed to have the last laugh, as midfielder Ben Romdhane scored a stunning goal to give his team the lead for the fourth time.
Ben Romdhane gives Al Ahly the lead | Courtesy DAZN Football
The scoring ended with Porto substitute Pepê making it 4-4 in the 89th minute, but the result in Florida between Inter Miami and Palmeiras made the game in New Jersey meaningless, as Porto and Al Ahly were eliminated from the Club World Cup.
European heavyweights get grouped
Porto started its first-ever Club World Cup with a disappointing scoreless tie against Palmeiras — a game when the latter completely dominated in terms of possession, shots, and passes.
The Dragões saw their next match against Inter Miami – a game in which they were heavily favored – as a way to get back on their feet, but things did not go as planned. After Porto took an early lead, second-half goals from Telasco Segovia and Lionel Messi propelled Inter Miami to a historic win, earning the first-ever victory for an MLS club at the Club World Cup and becoming the first club in Concacaf history to defeat a European opponent in a competition match.
But Porto was never fully out of tonight's game, despite playing from behind the entire time. It was a surprise to see the 30-time Liga Portugal winners – and two-time Champions League winners – struggle so much against competition from Egypt.
At the start of the tournament, Porto was the favorite to win the group, but finished at the bottom of Group A. All things told, it couldn't have gone worse for the team from Portugal.
Al Ahly impresses despite elimination
Al Ahly, despite being one of the lesser-known teams compared to European giants like Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, has a rich history. The 45-time Egyptian Premier League winners and 12-time CAF Champions League winners have played in the Club World Cup nine times – the second-most in the tournament's history, only behind Auckland City's 10 appearances – and have finished in third place three times.
Al Ahly was placed into a tough group, but the Reds showed fight in their opening game against Inter Miami, a scoreless draw in front of 60,927 fans in Florida.
In the next match, Al Ahly dominated Palmeiras early. But a costly own goal, followed by a 45-minute weather delay, proved too much to overcome, resulting in a 2-0 loss.
Al Ahly were the better team tonight, and despite conceding four goals, they never allowed Porto to take the lead. Credit is also due to the Al Ahly fans, who outnumbered the opposing team's fans in both games at MetLife. Tonight, red shirts filled the entire lower bowl, and we even saw three tifos from Al Ahly supporters.
It is definitely an Al Ahly-heavy crowd here at MetLife Stadium, and the fans have showed up with three separate tifos. The Egyptian giants need to win tonight and hope results go their way to stay alive at the Club World Cup.
— matthewmangam.bsky.social (@matthewmangam.bsky.social) Jun 23, 2025 at 8:50 PM
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Despite being eliminated, Al Ahly played an exciting game in front of their tens of thousands of fans who came to MetLife on this sweltering night, and left them entertained.
