Real Madrid await in the Club World Cup semi-finals for Al Ahly after the Egyptian side snatched a late victory over the Seattle Sounders on Saturday.

Mohamed Afsha's 88th-minute strike proved the difference as Al Ahly edged a tight quarter-final 1-0 against their Major League Soccer opponents in Morocco.

The reward for Al Ahly's late drama sees Marcel Koller's side face reigning Spanish and European champions Madrid on Wednesday in Rabat.

Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer believes there was not much to pick between the two teams, with Seattle unfortunate to see their Club World Cup hopes dashed with just minutes remaining.

"I thought we were good and I thought we were evenly matched," he said. "Had a couple of chances, but the deflection on the goal was unfortunate.

"They put everything into the game and everything into the pre-season."

Saudi Arabian side Al Hilal defeated Morocco's Wydad Casablanca on penalties in the other quarter-final clash after a 1-1 draw.

Al Hilal will face South American champions Flamengo on Tuesday in their bid to reach the final.

Real Madrid could face Seattle Sounders in their Club World Cup semi-final following Friday's draw.

UEFA Champions League winners Madrid will enter the tournament in Morocco at the last-four stage next month.

Carlo Ancelotti's side will have to wait to learn the identity of their opponents, but it could be MLS debutants Seattle.

The Sounders are the first American team to reach the Club World Cup, having won the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League final against Liga MX's UNAM.

Seattle are to make their debut in the second round against the winner of the sole first-round tie between CAF runners-up Al Ahly and OFC champions Auckland City.

The victors in that match will then go through to face Madrid, record four-time world champions.

On the other side of the draw, Copa Libertadores winners Flamengo, who were finalists against Liverpool in 2019, are to take on either CAF champions Wydad Casablanca – also hosts Morocco's representative – or AFC nominees Al Hilal.

With the two semi-finals to take place on February 7 and 8, the final and third-place play-off will follow on February 11.

The next edition of the Africa Cup of Nations will take place in January and February 2024, rather than between June and July 2023, according to CAF president Patrice Motsepe.

Africa's premier international tournament was due to be held in Ivory Coast during the European off-season next year, but the threat of heavy flooding in the country at that time of year means it will again take place midway through the club campaign.  

Speaking in the Moroccan capital Rabat, where a meeting of the CAF Executive Committee was taking place, Motsepe said: "We cannot take the risk.

"January is not the ideal time because of the European clubs, but it is the only choice we have."

In 2017 CAF announced its intention to play the tournament at the end of the European club season.

However, this year's edition, won by Senegal in February, was twice rescheduled after being slated to start in both June 2021 and June 2022, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic and adverse weather conditions in Cameroon.

The move is unlikely to be popular with several big-name club coaches, with Liverpool's Jurgen Klopp one high-profile critic of the decision to play the most recent tournament at the height of the European season.

CAF Secretary-General Veron Mosengo-Omba, however, insisted the contrasting weather conditions across the continent meant a permanent switch to a January-February tournament was not on the cards.

CAF also announced the creation of an African Super League on Sunday, with the first edition of the 24-team tournament, which will run alongside the African Champions League, slated to begin in August 2023. 

Wydad AC claimed their third CAF Champions League title after securing a 2-0 victory over holders Al Ahly in front of a home crowd at Stade Mohammed V in Casablanca.

The Morocco outfit, who entered the match as the less fancied of the two sides, were lifted to victory by a double from winger Zouhair El Moutaraji.

Al Ahly, who were seeking to defend their crown after victory in the same stadium last July against Kaizer Chiefs, were chasing a record-extending 11th title in the competition.

But they were unable to find a response to Wydad's opener on the quarter-hour mark, and struggled to find a goal of their own despite enjoying the lion's share of possession.

El Moutaraji's second shortly after the half-time interval effectively took the game away from Al Ahly, and a late red card for defender Ramy Rabia sealed defeat on the road.

Though Wydad would typically qualify for the FIFA Club World Cup with victory, they will be forced to wait to discover if and when they will compete, with the tournament currently undated and in logistical limbo.

Al Ahly will have the chance to defend their title after cruising through to the 2021-22 CAF Champions League final following a 2-2 second-leg draw with ES Setif in the semi-finals.

The visitors, who held a four-goal lead from a blowout first-leg victory, seldom looked troubled by the chance of an almighty upset in Algiers, and progressed to make it three finals on the trot with a 6-2 aggregate win.

On home soil, Setif restored a modicum of respectability against their Egyptian visitors and bounced back from Ahmed Abdel Kader's second-minute opener to lead through goals from Ahmed Kendouci and Riad Benayad.

But the 10-time competition winners, unbeaten since the knockout stages began, ensured a draw to preserve their advantage after Mohamed Sherif netted in injury time.

The result sets up a final clash with Morocco outfit Wydad AC, who will have the advantage of home turf after their ground Stade Mohammed V was selected to host the final on May 30.

Wydad reached the CAF Champions League final for the fifth time in their history after they drew 1-1 with Petro de Luanda to seal a 4-2 aggregate win.

The build-up to Friday's second leg between two-time champions Wydad and Petro, who were bidding to reach their first final in the competition, was skewed somewhat by Al Ahly's appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) over the decision to host the showpiece match in Casablanca.

Ten-time continental champions Al Ahly, who hold a 4-0 advantage over Entente Setif in the other semi-final, claimed it was unfair that Wydad, winners in 1992 and 2017, could have home advantage in the final on May 30, and unless CAS overrules CAF's decision, then that will be the case.

Defender Amine Farhane scored in the 28th minute to cancel out Gleison's superb opener for Petro.

The visitors had plenty of chances to get another and make things nervy for Wydad, but Mindinho and Erico Castro squandered their best opportunities in first and second-half stoppage time respectively.

To compound Petro's frustration, substitute Yano – who had two attempts after coming on – saw red in the final minute for foul language. 

Defending African champions Al Ahly are on the brink of the 2021-22 CAF Champions League final after dominating 10-man ES Setif in a 4-0 first-leg win in the last four.

Setif already had a tough task going away to the 10-time winners of the competition and trailed to Percy Tau's close-ranger header in the 30th minute before the tie took another turn in Al Ahly's favour.

Amir Karaoui was sent off for a dangerous challenge on Hussein El Shahat with 10 minutes of the first half still to play, giving the Algerian side a mountain to climb.

Al Ahly did not immediately punish their opponents, but Taher Mohamed doubled their advantage after 54 minutes when Tau's shot looped up in front of goal.

Tau continued to be involved in all of Al Ahly's best play and fed Mohamed Sherif for a cute finish for number three before completing the scoring himself with a tap in.

Wydad took a huge step towards their fifth CAF Champions League final with a 3-1 win at Petro de Luanda in their semi-final first leg.

Petro had beaten the two-time African champions at home in this season's group stage, but they were blown away in the rematch in Angola on Saturday.

A fearsome Yahia Attiyat Allah free-kick from the right prompted Petro captain Tiago Azulao to head into his own net after 16 minutes, and Wydad's skipper had the ball in the net on the stroke of half-time as Yahya Jabrane unleashed a stunning drive into the top-left corner from 25 yards.

Any hopes of a second-half turnaround vanished when Guy Mbenza swept in number three midway through the second half.

Ricardo Job did pull a goal back nine minutes from time, seeing his free-kick bounce through the Wydad box, but William Soares was then sent off for dissent in stoppage time and Petro face an almighty task in Morocco, where they lost 5-1 earlier in the campaign.