AFC Champions League

Murad Al-Masry (Abu Dhabi)
Shabab Al-Ahly continues its continental journey in the new season, participating in “AFC Champions League 2”, after losing to Al-Gharafa from Qatar by a goal, in the second match of the qualifying matches for the “AFC Europa League for the Elite.”
Shabab Al-Ahly will enter the “First Pot”, at the “AFC Champions League 2” group stage draw ceremony, tomorrow, with the participation of 32 teams, 16 teams from East and West Asia.
“Al-Fursan” is present in the first level of the classification for the West Asian region, together with Foolad Iran, Saudi Cooperation, and Al-Wakrah from Qatar, and the second level gives a- in Sharjah, together with the Uzbek Nasaf, the Iraqi Air Force, and the Jordanian Hussein, and in the third stage, the Tajik Istiklal, the Indian Mohun, Al-Khalidiya from Bahrain, Al-Wahdat from Jordan, and in the fourth stage , Rafshan from Tajikistan, East Bengal of India, or Altyn Asir from Turkmenistan, Al-Ahly from Bahrain, or Al-Kuwait from Kuwait.
The principle of not playing against a team from the same country is applied, and a special lottery program is used, to prevent conflicts or complicated situations.
After the end of the group stage, which starts next September, the top two teams from each group will qualify for the round of 16, which will be held in two round robin games, where the matches will be determined ​​​​​​through the draw for the knockout stages, which determine the features of the quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals. Zoning will be applied throughout the competition.
The semi-finals and semi-finals will also be played over two legs, before the tournament ends with the final match of one round on May 17, 2025.
Returning to the course of the rivalry that brought together Shabab Al-Ahly and Al-Gharafa, the lack of efficiency was a very influential factor, because according to the official website of the Asian Football Confederation, the “Knights” percentage of possession the ball reached 71%, compared to 29% for its rival, but Shabab Al-Ahly lacked accuracy in shots, the team shot 13 times, including 4 times in the side within the target, a rate of 30.8%.
Although Portuguese coach Paulo Sousa, the team’s coach, tried to introduce all the attacking elements through the minutes of the game, and they eliminated the five available substitutes to draw blood update, the team learned a lesson in the importance of taking advantage of opportunities. more effective, especially as we stand at the gates of the new season.
After the end of the conflict, the “Knights” close the Asian file for a while, to draw attention to the local competitions, while it meets Ajman next Sunday, in the first round of the “Islamic Bank Cup Abu Dhabi”, and then face Al Bataeh and Ajman on August 24 and 30 in the “ADNOC League”.

Doha (Al-Ittihad)
The Portuguese coach of Al-Gharafa, Qatar, believed that Shabab Al-Ahly is a good team with many solutions, and said at the opening press conference for the clash that will bring the two teams together -tomorrow in the qualifying match for the group stage of the first edition of the AFC Champions League for the elite: “We honor the Shabab Al-Ahly team, which is a team that has been playing together for several years, but we understand that it is a team. a difficult game and we have studied this team well, and we know what we can do and we are here to fight to put the other team in trouble.”
He spoke about the timing of the match, saying that it was not the best, as it came three days after the match between Al-Khor in the local league, while he believed that the Sephahan Iran is a strong match for Shabab Al-Ahly in the game that brought them together in the previous round of the qualifiers, as he said.
Pedro concluded his speech about the absences by saying: “Montari and Al Janhi are still recovering from injury, and as for Yacine Brahimi, he is gradually improving from the injury and we will see is he ready to participate in the game, and we are counting a lot on the support of the public.”

Sultan Al Ali (Dubai)
Today, Shabab Al-Ahly will cut the ribbon for the new era of the Asian Championships through the AFC Champions Elite League Playoff, by facing Iran Sepahan outside the ground in Iran in the preliminary round, and follow the football of the “Knights” and Emirates. hopefully the country’s representative will pass this conflict in search of the next round.
Sepahan’s situation does not seem to be ideal, which is in the interest of Shabab Al-Ahly in the upcoming dispute, as Sepahan is missing three of the main defenders on the team’s roster.
This is due to suspensions and disciplinary penalties carried over from the previous draft, as defender Siavush Yazdani is absent due to receiving a red card against Al Hilal in the second leg of the round of 16 , which will result in a one-game ban, but he did not enforce it due to exiting the tournament. violence, so that the ban became two matches, one of which was done in the second leg against Al Hilal, and one was carried over to the current version, and the third player is Hadi Mohammadi, who was sent out in the group stage game against Al Hilal Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya, and was punished by discipline, bringing the total number of games from which he has to lose to 4 games. Achly.
These three players represent the main pillars of the Iranian club’s defense, which will be difficult to cover for their absence, and it also misses its top scorer, Shahriar, who moved to Club Kalba this summer.
“Al-Fursan” and Emirates football fans are waiting for Shabab Al-Ahly to qualify against Al-Gharafa from Qatar in the decisive round that qualifies for the league stage of the elite Asian Champions League, to will Al-Fursan enter. Al-Ain and Al-Wasl in representing the country on the continental forum.