CAIRO: Ahly s progress to the Confederation Cup group stage is not guaranteed yet despite a comfortable first-leg advantage over Santos, assistant coach Hossam Al-Badri said.

The Red Devils, who played in Africa s secondary competition after being eliminated from the Champions League, are on the verge of booking a last-eight berth.

They crushed Santos 3-0 at home to leave the Angolan side with a mountain to climb in Sunday s tie in Luanda.

The match is not easy as some people might think, Al-Badri told Ahly s official website.

Our opponents still hope to advance to the next round. They will be looking to make the most of their home advantage.

We shouldn t rest on our laurels, we should be very careful.

Al-Badri is hoping Ahly, who were recently crowned Egyptian champions, will be able to cope with the absence of some key players.

Mercurial midfielder Mohamed Barakat continues to recover from injury.

Playmaker Mohamed Abou-Trika, defender Wael Gomaa and left-back Sayed Moawad joined up with Egypt, who will face Oman in a friendly game on Saturday.

The absence of those players could affect us but we are confident that our available players can win, Al-Badri added.