Nigerian midfielder Joshua Udoh was in action for Al Ain who suffered a 5-0 defeat to Juventus, in their opening Group G fixture at the FIFA Club World Cup on Thursday morning.
While Udoh was introduced in the 90th minute, his Nigerian teammates Rilwanu Sarki and Hassan Muhammed were not included in the matchday squad.
Goals from Randal Kolo-Muani (brace), Francisco Conceicao (brace) and Kenan Yildiz handed the Serie A giants a perfect start to the revamped FIFA Club World Cup.
Kolo-Muani opened the scoring in the 11th minute before Conceicao made it 2-0 on 21 minutes.
Ten minutes later Yildiz got Juventus’ third goal while Kolo-Muani added the fourth goal four minutes into first half stoppage time.
In the 58th minute Conceicao got his second goal to make it 5-0 to Juventus.
Al Ain will be back in action for their second fixture on Sunday, June 22 when they will face Premier League powerhouse Manchester City while Juventus take on Wydad Casablanca on the same day.
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In the group’s first tie, Manchester City defeated Wydad 2-0 thanks to goals from Phil Foden and Jeremie Doku.
Meanwhile in Group H, FC Salzburg defeated Pachuca 2-1 to occupy top position.
Real Madrid and Al Hilal had played out a thrilling 1-1 draw in the group’s opening fixture.
By James Agberebi
