Al Ain delivered a dominant 6-2 victory over Auckland City in the African-Asian-Pacific Cup Play-Off, part of the 2024 FIFA Intercontinental Cup, at Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium on Sunday.
This emphatic win sends Al Ain through to the next round, where they will face Al Ahly on October 29 at Cairo International Stadium.
Al Ain started strong, taking the lead in the 6th minute with a powerful header from Fabio Cardoso.
Just five minutes later, Sekou Baba doubled the score with a thunderous strike from outside the box.
While Al Ain thought they had secured a third goal in the 19th minute, it was ruled offside.
Auckland City pulled one back in the 43rd minute from a corner, but Al Ain quickly responded as Matias Palacios scored in stoppage time, making it 3-1 by halftime.
In the second half, Auckland City narrowed the gap with a goal from Myer Bevan in the 54th minute, bringing the score to 3-2.
However, Al Ain maintained their momentum, with substitute Soufian Rahimi heading a fourth goal in the 78th minute.
In the stoppage time, Al Ain added two more goals – a stunning strike from Kaku in the 90+2 minute and a second from Rahimi in the 90+4 minute, sealing an overwhelming 6-2 victory.
Al Ain will now face Al Ahly in a highly anticipated showdown in the next round of the 2024 FIFA Intercontinental Cup on October 29 in Cairo.
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