Corinthians coach Tite admitted his side struggled under the weight of expectation after labouring to a 1-0 semi-final victory over Al Ahly in a “life or death” Club World Cup semi-final.

A solitary goal from centre-forward Paolo Guerrero was enough for the Copa Libertadores winners to overcome the Egyptian outfit and reach Sunday’s final against European champions Chelsea.

“The players felt a significant weight of responsibility,” said Tite, seeking to end European dominance of the Japan showpiece.

“The history of Club World Cup games show there is a lot of psychological pressure (on the favourites),” he added.

Sao Paolo side Corinthians dominated possession in the first half on Wednesday but created few goal-scoring opportunities, Guerrero heading in the only clear-cut chance on the half-hour mark.

It was a different story after the break as the dominant African champions surged forward in a desperate search for an equaliser but Corinthians held on for a narrow win.

“We knew we had to get a second goal but there was an emotional factor which existed,” Tite explained of his team’s poor second-half showing in front of more than 20,000 Corinthians fans.

“It was a life or death match – a single game that defined your future in the tournament. We weren’t able to get the second goal so that encouraged Al Ahly,” he said.