Raja Casablanca became only the second African club to reach the final of the Club World Cup, when it ousted South American champion Atletico Mineiro 3-1, to setup a final date with Bundesliga and European champion Bayern Munich.
Midfielder Mouhssine Moutouali converted a penalty in the 84th minute to make it 2-1 before Central African Republic international Vianney Mabide capped a glorious night in Raja’s history with a third goal deep into stoppage time, thus equalling Congolese club TP Mazembe’s feat from 2010 against Inter. It was a blow, however, for the Copa Libertadores champion, playing in the tournament for the first time.
It must now settle for a third place playoff against Asian champions Guangzhou Evergrande.
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Fifth place playoff: Monterrey 5 (Neri Cardozo 3, Delgado 22, 65, Leonardo Lopez 27, Humberto Suazo 45-pen) bt Al Ahly 1 (Emad Moteab 8).