Mexico's Club Pachuca are through to the semifinals of the FIFA Intercontinental Cup and former Morocco national team attacker Oussama Idrissi played a crucial role. The 29-year-old provided the opening goal early in the second half as well as an assist on the third goal as the Liga MX side defeated Brazil's Botafogo 3-0 on Wednesday evening in Doha, Qatar.
Dubbed the "Derby of the Americas", the quarterfinal duel saw Pachuca, the winners of North America's CONCACAF Champions Cup, clash with Copa Libertadores holders Botafogo and it was a decisive victory for Los Tuzos. Idrissi initiated and finished the sequence that saw Pachuca take the lead in the 50th minute with dazzling dribbling and a brilliant combination with Bryan Gonzalez before his calm finish.
Video: Oussama Idrissi loses several Botafogo defenders before finishing the opening goal
Iddrisi also provided an assist for Venezuela national team legend Salomón Rondón who scored the third goal in the 80th minute to confirm victory. Pachuca will play against Egyptian giants Al Ahly on Saturday in the semifinals of the Intercontinental Cup, a competition that is the spiritual successor to the previous editions of the FIFA Club World Cup featuring the club champions from each continental confederation.
The Dutch-born Moroccan attacker continues to revitalize his career in Mexico since joining Pachuca as a free agent following his time with Spanish La Liga club Sevilla. Idrissi has 8 goals and 12 assists in 42 Liga MX matches for Pachuca and played a crucial role in their 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup title campaign with 1 goal and 6 assists in 7 matches. He made his last appearance for the Atlas Lions of Morocco in qualifying for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations where he provided an assist in Morocco's 2-1 defeat at South Africa.
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