Local champions Al-Wahda into quarter-finals

Local champions Al-Wahda cruised into the Club World Cup quarter-finals with a 3-0 win over Papua New Guinea outfit Hekari United here on Wednesday.

Brazilian magic was the undoing of the champions from Oceania, with goals from Hugo and Fernando Baiano setting Al-Wahda on the road to victory in front of a crowd of 23,000 at Abu Dhabi’s Mohammed Bin Zayed stadium.

Hugo struck in the 40th minute with an unstoppable left-footed shot into the bottom corner of Simione Tamanisau’s net from the edge of the area.

Baiano doubled up one minute from the break when sprinting through onto Fahed Masoud’s defence-splitting pass to beat Tamanisau at his near post.

Substitute Abdulraheem Jumaa added a third on 71 minutes to book Al-Wahda a date with Asian champions Seongham Ihwa from South Korea in Friday’s quarter-final.

Friday’s second game pits African side Tout Puissant Mazembe, from the Democratic Republic of Congo, against Pachuca from Mexico.