The 2022 FIFA Club World Cup got underway on Wednesday as Al Ahly beat Auckland City 3-0 in Tangier, Morocco.
Hussein El Shahat fired Al Ahly in front in first-half stoppage time before Mohamed Sherif found the net in the 56th minute.
Substitute Percy Tau then completed the scoring on 86 minutes.
Auckland defender Adam Mitchell was shown a straight red card deep into added time.
Al Ahly's victory saw the 42-time Egyptian champions progress to the second round where they will play the USA's Seattle Sounders on Saturday.
The winner of the game between Al Ahly and Seattle will then face Real Madrid in a semi-final on February 8.
On the other side of the draw, Wydad Casablanca and Al Hilal will face off on Saturday for the chance to meet Flamengo in the first semi-final on February 7.
The final and third place play-off will both take place on February 11.
This season's FIFA Club World Cup is expected to be the last edition using the current format.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino has said that the Club World Cup will be a 32-team tournament when it is expanded in the summer of 2025.
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