In the first round on 12 December, Al-Ain defeated Team Wellington in a penalty shoot-out following a 3–3 draw at their home stadium, Hazza bin Zayed Stadium. Wellington, a semi-professional club that qualified as the OFC Champions League champion, entered halftime with a 3–1 lead that was cut back by an equalising volley from Marcus Berg.[3] The match remained scoreless after extra time and advanced to a penalty shoot-out, which Al-Ain won 4–3 after five rounds after goalkeeper Khalid Eisa made two saves.[4][5]
Al-Ain advanced to face African champions Espérance de Tunis in the second round match, held three days later at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium. The team defeated Espérance 3–0 in an upset that began with two goals scored in the opening 16 minutes.[6] Al-Ain produced a larger upset in the semi-finals, defeating Copa Libertadores champions River Plate in a penalty shoot-out to advance to the Club World Cup final.[7] The match began with two early goals for River Plate scored by Rafael Santos Borré following an opening strike from Berg; after an equalising goal was disallowed by the video assistant referee, Caio Lucas Fernandes scored for Al-Ain in the 51st minute to draw the teams level at 2–2. After a scoreless extra time, aided by goalkeeper Essa's saves, Al-Ain defeated River Plate 5–4 in a penalty shoot-out, its second of the competition,[8] with Essa making one save on River's Enzo Pérez.[9][10][11] The semi-final upset of River was called the "greatest achievement" in Emirati football history by Al-Ain manager Zoran Mamić.[8]
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