Enyimba FC conqueror’s Wydad host Esperance In Africa Football League Semi-final 1st-leg today
After conquering Enyimba FC in the quater-final, Wydad Casablanca will today host Esperance of Tunisia in a Africa Football League Semi-final 1st-leg fixture.
Wydad Casablanca on Thursday, October 26 completed a 4-0 aggregate win over Nigerian Champions Enyimba FC with a 3-0 second leg win in Morocco.
Three days after the win, Wydad will face Tunisian club, Esperance in the semi-final 1st-leg at the Stade Mohamed V. In Casablanca, Morocco.
Two African heavyweights face-off by 18:00 GMT in chase of a place in the final match of the inaugural Africa Football League final.
Wydad Casablanca and Esperance hold a rich in CAF club finals, a rivalry that will be renewed in an enthralling encounter on Sunday, October 29, 2023.
Ahead of the match, Wydad Coach Adel Ramzy whose side pulled up with the best record in the quater-final, winning both games said it will be important to win the first leg.
“On Sunday, the attention of African football fans will be directed towards Casablanca,” Wydad coach Adel Ramzy said.
“Each club strives to win the first leg, hoping to get closer to the AFL final which both teams salivate over.
In recent history, Wydad and Esperance have met four times in the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League finals since 2017.
Esperance of Tunisia won the most recent meeting 1-0 on aggregate in the 2018/2019 CAF Champions League season.
For Wydad Casablanca Coach, Adel Ramzy his boys will look to build on the momentum from the 3-0 home win over Enyimba FC when Esperance visit the Stade Mohamed V.
“We will enter the match ecstatic after the quarter-final victory over Enyimba. We insist on achieving victory at home to maintain qualification chances for the difficult return leg,” he said.
On his part, Espérance coach Tariq Thabet is plotting an away triumph or at least a draw to seize early control of the semi-final.
We move with great ambition and desire to achieve a surprise, and at least avoid defeat,” Thabet said.
To reach the last-4, Esperance defeated Tanzanian club, TP Mazembe in the quater-final, Tariq Thabet’s men having to overturn a first leg loss with a 3-0 win in Tunis.
An electric atmosphere is expected at the ever-vibrating Stade Mohammed V. on Sunday evening as the two former African Champions go head-to-head.
