The first football team of the Al-Nasri Saudi Club seeks to continue its good journey in the AFC Champions League when it visits Ali Arkadag of Turkmenistan.
Al-Nasr enters the knockout rounds after topping its group with a full score, reserving its sixth place in the knockout rounds at the Asian Championships level, and confirming its readiness to compete for the title.
The Saudi team begins its campaign with a strong confrontation away from home against Arkadag of Turkmenistan, runner-up in Group Two, the day after tomorrow at Ashgabat Olympic Stadium, in a difficult test against a team that imposes its control on the local scene, after winning the league and cup titles for three consecutive seasons, in addition to winning the Asian Challenge League title in its first continental participation last season.
The rest of the Round of 16 matches are no less important, as Iranian Esteghlal will meet Jordanian Al-Hussein in Dubai, while Iraqi Al-Zawraa will host UAE team Al-Wasl in Baghdad.
This confrontation will be the first test for Al Wasl’s new coach, Portuguese Rui Vitoria, who returns to work after a period of absence from training following his departure from leading the Egyptian national team about two years ago.
Iran’s Sepahan will also be a guest of Qatar’s Al-Ahly in an anticipated confrontation in the capital, Doha, on Wednesday.
In the East region, the excitement continues with the confrontations between the Thai Ratchaburi Group and the Indonesian Persib Bandung, in the first elimination appearance for the Thai team, while Vietnamese Kong An Hanoi hosts its Singaporean counterpart, Tambanese Rovers, which is the most experienced on the continent among the qualifying teams.
The first-leg matches will conclude next Thursday with the South Korean Pohang Steelers meeting with Japan’s Gamba Osaka, in addition to facing Thailand’s Bangkok United and Australia’s MacArthur, in a new struggle for transit tickets.
