Al Ain eye Club World Cup redemption after modest season

Al Ain have not had much luck in the group draw for the Club World Cup. The UAE side, who lost the final of the 2018 edition to Real Madrid, will face two world-class clubs in Manchester City and Juventus, as well as Wydad Casablanca, with whom they are expected to battle for third place in Group G. Their presence in the tournament is a result of their triumph in the Asian Champions League in 2024.

Vladimir Ivic's team has been reinforced with a goalkeeper known to all for their participation in the World Cup. The arrival of Rui Patricio and the presence of stars Rahimi, top scorer of the Olympic Games with Morocco, and Laba, who has astronomical goalscoring figures, are the best arguments for Al Ain, who have been out of continental competitions for four years. They finished fourth in the United Arab Emirates League, in which they are the club with the most titles in history with 14 crowns.

Squad list

Players to watch

The importance of goals is such in football that when thinking about Al Ain we cannot think of any other star player than Laba Kodjo. He has scored 145 goals in 183 appearances for the UAE side. At the age of 33, he has stratospheric numbers, which, of course, need to be properly assessed ahead of the Club World Cup, where the level will be higher than in his home league. However, in more demanding tournaments such as the Asian Champions League, he has scored 10 goals in 15 matches in all competitions.

Al Ain will also have two big-name players at their disposal. Rui Patricio has recently arrived for the tournament. He is an experienced goalkeeper with previous spells with Sporting Portugal, Wolves, Roma, Atalanta and the Portuguese national team. The other player known outside the borders of the UAE is Soufiane Rahimi. The Moroccan was the top scorer at the 2024 Olympics with 8 goals in 6 games. He has 10 goals in 29 appearances for Morocco and 65 goals and 34 assists in 146 appearances for Al Ain.

Coach

Vladimir Ivic joined Al Ain last February after a year without coaching. The 48-year-old Serbian coach started his career at PAOK and then moved on to Maccabi Tel Aviv, Watford and Krasnodar. He has six wins, three draws and three defeats in the Emirates League with a 3-5-2 formation that he has not always used in his career. He opted for 4-3-3 at Krasnodar, for example, while he alternated with 4-4-2 and 4-4-3 at Maccabi. He started using that formation at Watford, where he lasted only nine games.

Ivic has not been able to get the team into continental competitions. His team finished 5th in the United Arab Emirates behind Shabab Al Ahli Dubai, Sharjah, Al Wahda and Al Wasl. Hernan Crespo, who stayed until November, and Leonardo Jardim, sacked in February, left him with a complicated scenario despite being recognised coaches.

Group stage fixtures

Matchday 1

Juventus will be Al Ain's first opponents in the group stage of the Club World Cup in a match scheduled for Thursday 19 June. The Emiratis have never faced either the “Vecchia Signora” or any Italian opponent. Anything less than a clean sheet will be a historic triumph for a team that would dream of something more if they manage to scrape something against the Italians.

Matchday 2 

If the match against Juventus already looks difficult, things get even more complicated on the second matchday. On Monday 23 June, they will face Manchester City, who they have never faced before. They have only played one game against an English team: a friendly against Aston Villa in March, losing 3-1.

Matchday 3

The match against Wydad Casablanca, scheduled for Thursday 26 June, has the makings of a final for Al Ain. It is expected to be a battle between the two sides for third and fourth place if the odds are right. But it could also be a fight for something more if one of them has pulled off a major upset in a previous match. The Emiratis have never played against the Moroccans, so it will also be a first-time meeting.

POSSIBLE STARTING XI