Al Ain End Club World Cup on high after the edges of Wydad in Washington
Match report
Al Ain ended their FIFA Club World Cup campaign with a 2-1 comeback victory at Wydad in Audi Field in Washington in just the third meeting between a team from Morocco and one from the Middle East.
Both teams knew their fate prior to the kick -off – even a victory would not be enough to see them progress of group G after losing each of their first two games.
Wydad had done considerably better in their encounters against Group Heavyweights Juventus and Manchester City, and they were quickly out of the blocks and needed less than five minutes to break the impasse while Cassius Mailula hammered in the upper corner from the area.
They were almost two for the good short thereafter, but Oesssama Zemraoui could not get enough on the header of Omar Al Souma and his stretched attempt dripped wide.
Al Ain had to wait until the 20th minute before their first opening, when Yahya Ben Khaleq went along the post, but only the bar prevented Ayoub Boucheta on the other side.
The match began to open at that moment, and within a few seconds after that narrow escape, Soufiane Rahimi all forced mehdi Benabid in a crucial stop.
The Emirati -Outfit had the ball at the back of the net due to the fine finish of Kodjo Laba, but it was excluded for offside.
Nevertheless, the men of Vladimir Ivic gave an equalizer before the break of the penalty place.
Adis Jasic was pulled down by Boucheta after Kakus through the ball, and from 12 meters Laba inserted in the back of the net to set up an intriguing second half.
Match Moment
Match Moment
Opta by Statspleform
The hectic pace took place after the restart and after recovered parity already used that momentum to complete the lead time.
Kaku was the goal scorer, who curled in the upper corner with a strike that conquered a VAR intervention for a potential error in the structure before he was ratified.
While both teams were still liking to attack, the opportunities were missing compared to the first half. Al Ain, however, should have been two for the good when Laba was found for what seemed to be a simple tap-in, but instead of finding the back of the net, he somehow walked past the post.
Eventually Ain was able to hold the victory to end the competition at a peak, which seemed unlikely after their first two games.
In the meantime, Wydad will be disappointed that they have no longer received this competition, given their early edition, and they end the bottom of the group.
Match -Events
4 'goal! Wydad Casablanca 1-0 al-Inain FC (Cassius Mailula)
45 'Criminal objective! Wydad Casablanca 1-1 al-Inain FC
50 'goal! Wydad Casablanca 1-2 al-Inain FC (Kaku)
Line-ups
Wydad Casablanca XI: Amrabat, Omar al-Somah, Thembinkosi Lorch, Oussama Zemraoui, El Mehdi Benabid, Jamal Harkass, Ayoub Boucheta, Mohamed Moufid, Mehdi Moubarik, Cassius Mailula, Guilherm Ferherm Ferre
Subs: Mohamed Rayhi, Mickaël Malsa, Fahd Moufi, Bart Meijers, Stephane Aziz Ki, Ismael Benktib, Samuel Obeng, Ismail Moutaraji, Youssef El Motie, Arthur Wenderroscy, Zakaria Fatiuan, Seleemanu, Seleman, Seleman, Seleman, Seleman, Seleman, Seleman, Seleman, Seleman, Seleman, Seleman, Seleman, Seleman, Seleman, Seleman, Seleman, Seleman, Seleman, Seleman, Seleman, Seleman, Selemanu, Selemanu, Selemanu, Selemanu, Selemanu, Selemanu, Selemanu, Selemanu, Selemanu, Selemanu, Seleihi. Mahtou
Al-Inain FC XI: Patricio, Rami Rabia, Kaku, Kodjo Laba, Yong-Woo Park, Soufiane Rahimi, MatÃas Palacios, Facundo Zabala, Adis Jasic, Yahya Benkhaleq, Abdoul Karim Traore
Subs: Khalid Eisa, Fábio Cardoso, Mohamed Awad Alla, Khalid Hashemi, Yahia Dichter, Nassim Chadli, Erik, Kouame Autonne Kouadio, Marcel Ratnik, Mohammed al-Baloushi, Mateo Sanabria, Housessa, Hazhuhuh, Hazhuhuh, Hazhuhuh, Hazhuhuhuhuh, Amuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhu,