Pachuca recover to reach Club World semis

(CNN) -- Mexico's Pachuca came from two goals down to beat African champions Al Ahly of Egpyt 4-2 to reach the semifinals of the Club World Cup in Tokyo on Saturday.

Pachuca, representing CONCACAF, were in trouble after an own goal and another by Flavio just before half-time put the Egyptians in charge.

But the Mexican club staged a remarkable second half recovery as goals from midfielder Luis Montes and Christian Gimenez drew them level.

Argentine midfielder Damian Alvarez sealed the victory eight minutes into extra-time with fellow-Argentine Gimenez adding a late fourth.

"We were unfortunate to be down 2-0 because I thought we played better than Al Ahly in the first half," Pachuca coach Enrique Meza told the Associated Press.

"We had to think about how to achieve our goal and that was to play creatively. We scored two minutes into the second half and played more creatively and that's why we won."

Pachuca will meet South American champions Liga de Quito of Ecuador on Wednesday in the semifinals.

The other semifinal will see European champions Manchester United take on the winners of Sunday's quarterfinal between Japan's Gamba Osaka and Australia's Adelaide United.

United have yet to arrive in Japan for the intercontinental competition, playing Tottenham Hotspur in the English Premier League on Saturday before jetting out.

Al Alhy took the lead against the run of play in the 28th minute when forward Mohamed Aboutrika broke down the left, cut into the box and his cross was deflected past his own goalkeeper by Pachuca defender Fausto Pinto.

Despite being on the back foot for most of the match, Al Ahly went two goals up seconds before halftime after a swift counterattack down the left flank which drew the defenders out of position, presenting an easy tap in for unmarked Angolan striker Flavio.

Montes began the comeback in the 47th minute by curling a free kick past goalkeeper Amir Abdelhamid, a feat repeated by Gimenez in the 73rd minute to force extra time.

Alvarez scored the third in extra time, as he charged down an attempted clearance and after the ball spilled loose from a subsequent challenge, he knocked it into the net.

Gimenez scored an insurance goal in the second half of extra-time with a powerful shot.

Copyright 2008 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.