Al Wasl seeks to achieve a strong start in the AFC Champions League for the elite, when it visits Pakhtakor of Uzbekistan at six o’clock this evening, at the “Milli Stadium”.
The “Emperor” returns to continental participation after a five-year absence from Asian competitions, after winning the ADNOC Professional League title last season, in addition to the President’s Cup.
The “Zabeel Cheetahs” hope to make up for their last participation, in which they were eliminated from the tournament in the group stage.
Al Wasl enters the Asian elite competitions facing a big challenge, as it faces the giants of the yellow continent, after the draw granted it strong confrontations against Pakhtakor, Al Gharafa of Qatar, Al Shorta of Iraq and Al Nassr of Saudi Arabia outside its stadium, while it meets Al Ahli and Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia and Al Sadd and Al Rayyan of Qatar on its home ground.
There are doubts about the readiness of the team’s star player Fabio Lima and his participation in today’s match, after he suffered an injury following his participation with the national team against Iran in the World Cup qualifiers. Attempts were made on the medical level to prepare the player in the past few days, but Serbian coach Milos Milojevic has a group of options that can compensate for Lima’s possible absence, most notably Ali Saleh and Nicolas Jimenez.
Al Wasl’s mission will not be easy as it faces Pakhtakor, who has great experience at the continental level, especially since it is participating for the 19th time in the AFC Champions League, equal to the Saudi giant Al Hilal as the club with the most participation in the tournament.
Uzbek club Pakhtakor made two historic appearances in the AFC Champions League, when it reached the semi-finals in the 2003 and 2004 editions, but luck did not allow it to go further than that.
In 2003, Pakhtakor lost in the semi-final match against the Thai team Police Tero 1-3, and did not benefit from the 1-0 win in the second leg, while it bid farewell to the competition in 2004 against the South Korean team Seongnam, with a 0-0 draw in the first leg and a 0-2 loss in the second leg.
Pakhtakor will participate in the first edition of the AFC Champions League for the elite this season as the Uzbek league champion, for the fifth time in a row and the 16th time in its history.
• “Fahd Zabeel” hopes to make up for its last participation, in which it was eliminated from the tournament in the group stage.
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