H.E. Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, President of the Asian Football Confederation, praised Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal, which achieved the best result in the final of the FIFA Club World Cup, finishing second in the tournament that ended yesterday at the Moulay Abdullah Stadium. in Rabat, where he lost to Real Madrid, Spain, 3-5. In a statement on the occasion, Sheikh Salman said: “On behalf of the Asian football family, I would like to pay tribute to the Al-Hilal Club, which showed a commendable personality and team spirit to show their best level and take second place in the 2022 Club World Cup in Morocco. These results are indicative of what needs to happen with the Asian teams, who will all be inspired by this achievement, in order to rise to a higher level in the coming years.
He added: “The AFC is implementing a strong plan in line with the vision and mission to ensure that our players and teams continue to shine globally by hosting the Asian Championships at the highest level and the success of Al Hilal Club confirms the progress we have made in achieving our ambitions.”
Al-Hilal, who have won the AFC Champions League four times so far, delivered an outstanding performance in the tournament, beating Brazil’s Flamengo in the semi-finals to become the first Saudi team to qualify for the Club World Cup. the final.
Al-Hilal had previously placed fourth in the tournament twice in 2019 and 2021, and after the end of the match with Real Madrid raised their tally to 17 goals in the history of the tournament, as it is considered the best club in Asia in terms of total number of goals in the club world championships to equal the best achievement on the Asian continent. In the Club World Cup where Kashima Antlers of Japan and Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates finished second in 2016. and 2018 respectively, after losing to Real Madrid.
The final of the Club World Cup yesterday, Saturday, brought together two of the most successful teams on the continents of Asia and Europe, as Al Hilal became the champion of the Asian continent four times and finished second on the continent four more times. while Real Madrid has 14 titles on the European continent.
