Goal.com

Now in his second managerial term at Al Ahly, the 52-year-old hopes that his side can inspire a country that has recently suffered another wave of political strife

Al-Ahly manager Hossam El-Badry on Sunday night praised his side following a surprising 2-1 win against host representatives Sanfrecce Hiroshima in the Club World Cup quarter-final.

The Egyptian side, who have played few competitive fixtures this year due to the suspension of their country's professional league, took the lead twice despite an at-times heavy snowfall and the loss of captain Hossam Ghaly in the first half.

"I'm very happy about the result," El-Badry said after the match. "Today was a difficult game. Sanfrecce is a very good, tactical team, so we studied them well.

"We went for the attack and concentrated on a goal because they were defending deep. We deserved to win today."

After eliminating the favoured Sanfrecce, who themselves were not without injury after goalkeeper Shunsaku Nishikawa was forced to depart in the 9th minute of play, Al-Ahly will face Corinthians in the semi-finals on Wednesday.

"Corinthians is a big and strong team," El-Badry continued. "But I will do my homework. Today our play was extremely good, and if we play like that against Corinthians we'll do well."

The former Egypt international also alluded to the political situation in Egypt, part of which has involved the suspension of professional football in the country following the Port Said disaster earlier this year.

"Our league is suspended for political reasons," El-Bahdry said, "We want to play in our league again. we don't know what will happen, and because of that we've only played friendly matches and did our best under the circumstances.

"Not only us, but all Egyptians can be happy because of today's result."

Meanwhile, Sanfrecce coach Hajime Moriyasu saw positives in his team's loss and credited Al-Ahly for their preparation.

"We played aggressive football," the J-League Manager of the Year said at his press conference. "We expected to compete with our style against Al-Ahly, but they studied us and came up with counter-measures.

"There was some confusion after Nishikawa's injury, but Masuda played well. Moriwaki was also substituted because of fitness, and it was bad that we used two substitutions for injured players."

With one CWC match remaining against Ulsan Hyundai on Wednesday afternoon, Moriyasu saw an opportunity to prepare for next season's Asian Champions League campaign.

"We'll do our best against Ulsan Hyundai, since some players are injured," the former Japan international continued. "Playing against a physical team will be a good simulation for the 2013 ACL."