Al-Ain thrashes Auckland City and advances to the stage

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The Asian champions beat the current Oceania Champions League winners 6-2 and will face Al-Ahly in their next match; the Libertadores representatives play on December 11

Al-Ain thrashes Auckland City and advances to the stage

Al-Ain beat Auckland City 6-2 on Sunday at the Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium in the United Arab Emirates in the first game of the 2024 Intercontinental Cup , a tournament created by FIFA to replace the old Club World Cup . The reigning Asian Champions League champions will next face Al-Ahly from Egypt.

Al-Ain opened the scoring in the sixth minute, with a goal from Fabio Cardoso, and extended their lead in the 11th minute, with striker Sossama. Auckland City reduced the deficit in the 43rd minute, with a goal from Lagos, but Palacios made it 3-1 in stoppage time.

The UAE team was also much superior in the second half and turned an easy win into a rout. Bevan’s point even reduced the deficit in the ninth minute, but Rahimi scored in the 33rd minute and in injury time. Kaku was another who came off the bench and scored. Final: 6-2 for Al-Ain over Auckland City.

Al-Ain will face Al-Ahly from Egypt in the next phase on October 29. This new match will determine the team that will face the champion of the Conmebol Libertadores 2024 or Pachuca from Mexico.

The final three decisive games of the first edition of the Intercontinental Cup will all be in Doha, Qatar . By FIFA’s decision, the tournament will always have as one of the finalists the reigning champion of the UEFA Champions League – this year, Real Madrid .

This competition is different from the new Club World Cup , which will be organized every four years, and whose first edition, in 2025, in the United States, will have 32 participating teams.

2024 Intercontinental Cup Participants

Al-Ain – Asian Champions League Champion 2023/24
Auckland City – 2024 Oceania Champions League (eliminated)
Al-Ahly – African Champions League 2023/24 Winner
Pachuca – 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup Champion
Real Madrid – UEFA Champions League Winner 2023/24
Undefined – Conmebol Libertadores 2024 Champion