At Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain's third-round cup tie became a test of Vladimir Ivic's squad depth. The match against Kalba was played on October 8, 2026, in the Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank Cup.
Al Ain went ahead on a Hussein Rahimi penalty in the 43rd minute. Kalba moved in front twice before Kaku levelled the score in the 85th minute, according to Al Bayan.
Protocol listings named Lithuanian referee Donatas Rumšas as the match official and recorded the temperature at around 40°C.
Ivic leaves the criticism unnamed
The criticism was pointed, but Ivic kept it unspecific. He named no individuals, and the available account does not identify which players he meant.
After the third round, Kalba had four points and stood seventh, while Al Ain had one point and was 11th. Sharjah24 reported that the draw gave Al Ain its first point after two defeats, with Kalba moving to four points.
The cup tie gave fringe players minutes
Ivic said the match was part of a plan to give playing time to squad members who do not feature regularly. Training alone, he argued, makes it hard to assess talented players. The game gave him a chance to see who could help the team and which weaknesses needed work.
Abdullah Humaidi started in goal, with Joshua also in the starting lineup. Marcus Andre and Amadou Niang were starters. Adis Jasetic and Ibrahim Junior also began the match. Ismail Okpoti and Tion Gjegselhart were in the XI, along with Hazem Abbas and Baba Bello. Hussein Rahimi completed the starting lineup.
Kaku and Soufiane Rahimi came on in the second half. Abdulkarim Traore and Rafael Vila also entered, followed by Dorde Skoko.
Al Ain has also appeared in coverage of other local sports. One report covered Wad and Al Saree taking top prizes at an Al Ain festival.
