half strike by Chad Coombes helped amateurs Auckland City to a surprise 2-0 victory over hosts Al-Ahli in the first match of the Club World Cup Wednesday. The midfielder doubled the New Zealand champions' lead when his blistering 30-yard strike found the back of the net at the Mohammad Bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. “Chad's goal was just class,” Auckland coach Paul Posa told a news conference. “Chad Coombes is someone I feel is just starting to blossom.” Al-Ahli had more chances in a scrappy first half until English striker Adam Dickinson latched on to a fine cross from Jason Hayne on the right wing and shot from close range just before halftime to give Auckland the lead. Al-Ahli had the chance to level the game less than a minute later but captain Salem Khamis' shot from 10 yards out sailed over the crossbar. Brazilian striker Bare went close for Al-Ahli in the second half but Auckland survived late pressure to progress to the quarterfinals, where it will meet Atlante of Mexico. “The key for us was the homework we did on Al-Ahli. We knew how they were going to play so we had a system to counter that,” Posa said. Oceania champion Auckland plays in the eight-team amateur New Zealand Football Championship, which began in 2004. It has won the domestic title four times. “If we had scored an equalizing goal in the first half, that would have given us a good advantage,” Al-Ahli coach Mahdi Redha said. “The team today really didn't play very well.” The tournament, which runs until Dec. 19, brings together the champions of FIFA's six confederations as well as host team Al-Ahli. European champion Barcelona and South American champion Estudiantes have byes into the semifinals. Toni to retun to Italy Bayern Munich's Italian striker Luca Toni has claimed he will be returning to Italy while his coach insisted he would not try to stop him. Toni moved to the Bavarian giants in 2006 after winning the World Cup with Italy in Germany. But after three successful seasons he has found himself left out in the cold by new coach Louis van Gaal for most of this campaign and his repeated outbursts against his coach have seen him left in limbo. But in an interview to be published Wednesday in Chi magazine, Toni affirmed that he is coming home, presumably during January's transfer window. “I miss everything about my country: the fans, my friends, my mummy. I don't yet know which team I will play for but I'm sure I'll be coming back to Italy,” he said. “I've made some mistakes here in Germany and I regret them. Those mistakes have cost me my place at the World Cup in South Africa.”
