Oceania men’s club champions Auckland City are ready for the 40-degree temperatures they expect to strike in Monday’s FIFA Intercontinental Cup tie against Asian champions Al Ain.
The teams will meet at the Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium, in the United Arab Emirates, in the evening (local time 8pm).
New Zealanders can watch the FIFA+ live stream of the game at 4am on Monday (NZT).
Main photo: Auckland City … winners of the OFC Champions League. Photo: Phototek.
Coach Albert Riera’s squad have been acclimatising during a three-day training camp in Abu Dhabi, which included a 2-1 victory over local Division Two side Arabian Falcons.
Players Adam Mitchell and Angus Kilkolly provided the following interviews to Auckland FC Media from the training camp:
The sudden-death tie with Al Ain is the first game in FIFA’s new Intercontinental Cup series which pitches the respective continental champions in a knockout competition, culminating in a final on December 18.
UEFA Champions League winners Real Madrid have been given a top seeding for the competition and will go straight into the final.
The new competition is a spin-off from the revamped FIFA Club World Cup which starts in the United States next year.
Auckland City qualified for the Intercontinental Cup by winning this year’s OFC Men’s Champions League, and has already qualified for next year’s FIFA Club World Cup on the strength of its record in OFC tournaments over the past four seasons.
Monday’s opponents Al Ain are coached by legendary Argentine striker Hernán Crespo.
They won their second Asian Championship title by beating Japan’s Yokohama F. Marinos 6-3 on aggregate in a two-legged title decider.
The last time Al Ain faced New Zealand opposition was at the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup when they beat Team Wellington in a penalty shootout.
The winner of Monday’s match will meet Egyptian champions Al Ahly in late October.
FIFA Intercontinental Cup
Six clubs will contest the cup:
- Auckland City (New Zealand, OFC Men’s Champions League winners)
- Al Ain (UAE, AFC Men’s Champions League winners)
- Real Madrid (Spain, UEFA Champions League winners)
- C.F. Pachuca (Mexico, CONCACAF Champions Cup winners)
- Al Ahly SC (Egypt, CAF Champions League winners)
- To be decided (winners of 2024 Copa Libertadores in South America; final set for November 30)
Fixture
Game to be played on Monday September 23, 2024
Al Ain v Auckland City
Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium, UAE, 4am (NZT)
Auckland City squad
1 Conor Tracey (Gk)
2 Mario Ilich (captain)
3 Adam Mitchell
4 Christian Gray
5 Marco Lorenz
6 Kailan Gould
7 Myer Bevan
8 Gerard Garriga
9 Angus Kilkolly
11 Ryan De Vries
13 Nathan Lobo
15 Aston Burns
16 Joe Lee
17 Jerson Lagos
18 Enaut Zubikarai(Gk)
19 Yuki Aizu
20 Derek Tieku
21 Adam Bell
22 Tong Zho
23 Alfie Rogers
24 Nathan Garrow (Gk)
25 Michael Den Heijer
26 Rayan Tayeb
27 Stipe Ukich
Staff
Coach: Albert Riera
Assistant coach: Ivan Vicelich
Goalkeeper coach: Enaut Zubikarai
Technical: Adria Casals
Logistics: Keith Coton
Physio: Matt Payne
This story was first published on September 22, 2024.
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