African club TP Mazembe creates history, qualifies for final

African football club, Congo's TP Mazembe created history on Tuesday by becoming the first African side to reach the FIFA Club World Cup final after upsetting Brazilian club Internacional with a 2-0 win in Abu Dhabi.

Mulota Kabangu opened the scoring in the 53rd minute with a superb strike before Alain Kaluyituka's brilliant solo effort late on secured the win and a place in the final.

Mazembe goalkeeper Muteba Kidiaba was one of the heroes for the African side, pulling off a number of point blank saves making them the first team from outside Europe or South America to meet in the final.

However, it was Inter who made the inroads into Mazembe early on, and it required Kidiaba to be at his best to keep them out. Mazembe didn't see much of the ball, and they created very few chances in a first half dominated by Inter.

Mazembe looked better in the second half, and were more confident in attack. It led to the first goal of the game when Kabangu curled a perfect shot into the far corner from the edge of the box, leaving Internacional keeper Renan stranded.

Inter attacked with more enterprise and would have scored had it not been for the brilliant Kidiaba who pulled off a string of saves to keep the score unchanged.

Mazembe sealed the win with five minutes to go when Kaluyituka, from outside the box, fired a low shot which beat Renan at the near post.

The win means Mazembe will meet the winners of the second semi-final game between European Champions League winners Internazionale from Italy and Seongnam Ilhwa of South Korea, which will be played out on Wednesday.

A delighted Mazembe coach, Lamine N'Diaye said, We are here to represent Africa and all of Africa will be proud of our work. It's a day of happiness for us and also a day of pride - we have succeeded and shown that our players are of a high standard.

Internacional coach Celso Roth was disappointed at the defeat but admitted that the best team won.

We controlled the game, but the best team is the one that wins, he said.

It was time for Africa to reach the final and unfortunately it has been at our expense. There's no dishonor in that - African football is improving all the time and I don't see anything shameful in losing to an African team.