Rabat: CONCACAF champion Cruz Azul ousted Asian champions Western Sydney Wanderers 3-1 in extra time and joined New Zealand’s Auckland City in the Club World Cup semifinals for the first time on Saturday.
Cruz Azul, on debut, will play Real Madrid on Tuesday in Rabat, and Auckland City will face Copa Libertadores champ San Lorenzo on Wednesday in Marrakech.
In unrelenting rain in Rabat, Western Sydney scored first against the run of play with Iacopo La Rocca taking an opportunist shot from a poor clearance.
Western Sydney midfielder Matthew Spiranovic was then sent off for a second yellow card for hand ball, and Cruz Azul laid siege for the remaining 15 minutes. It didn’t pay off until the 89th, when a penalty was received and captain Gerardo Torrado leveled, forcing extra time.
It became worse for Wanderers at the start of the extra period when captain and defender Nikolai Topor-Stanley was issued his second yellow. Cruz Azul pounced, with Hugo Pavone knocking a rebound into an empty net in the 108th, and Torrado converting another penalty for hand ball in the 118th.
Auckland advanced to its first semifinal in their sixth attempt when it beat Algeria’s Es Setif 1-0.
Auckland, which defeated local side Moghreb Tetouan in a penalty shootout on Wednesday to make the quarterfinals, delivered the winner early in the second half, when a corner kick landed in the box, and John Irving beat a defender and shot inside the near post.
