The club's Asian success however, was not replicated in the beginning of the A-League season, with the team managing only three draws out of the first nine matches. The team's poor domestic run was put on hold while the team travelled to Morocco for the 2014 FIFA Club World Cup, where Wanderers faced Mexican side Cruz Azul in a quarter-finals clash on 13 December 2014. After going down to 9-men, Wanderers failed to hold onto the lead late into the match; an unfavourable 3–1 scoreline in extra-time saw Wanderers matched-up against ES Sétif of Algeria in a fifth place play-off. A 2–2 draw led to a penalty shoot-out which finished 5–4 in favour of the African champions, ending Wanderers' run in the tournament with the team finishing in sixth place. After returning home, the team finished the year with a loss in Wellington, in what was the team's 44th match in all competitions for the calendar year – a record for an Australian club. A short mid-season break gave Popovic the chance to organise the squad for the remainder of the season. This included the addition of Japanese internationals Yūsuke Tanaka and Yojiro Takahagi, as well as Australian-born Kerem Bulut among others as either injury replacements or squad replacements for Vítor Saba, Seyi Adeleke and foundation player Kwabena Appiah. As the season resumed, it became apparent that a heavy schedule would be the team's downfall. Wanderers had to manage entering into the 2015 AFC Champions League group-stage with the former season's rivals Guangzhou Evergrande and FC Seoul as well as rescheduled mid-week league fixtures. After a grueling three months the club ended their third season in the league in ninth position, whilst their Champions League season also ended unfavourably with the title-holders eliminated from the group stage, finishing third in their group.