Esteghlal Advances to Group Stage of AFC Champions League with Victory over Al-Sadd of Qatar

The Esteghlal football team of Iran advanced to the top 16 teams of West Asia in a knockout match of the AFC Champions League by defeating Al-Sadd of Qatar. Thus, after the direct qualification of Esteghlal Khuzestan, Zob Ahan Isfahan, and Persepolis to the Champions League, the Tehran Blues became the fourth Iranian representative in the group stage. In the match between Esteghlal and Al-Sadd, held with the presence of about 80,000 spectators at Azadi Stadium, Esteghlal triumphed in the penalty shootout. For Esteghlal, Kaveh Rezaei, Ali Ghorbani, Farshid Esmaeili, and Khosrow Heydari scored their penalties, while Omid Ebrahimi missed his shot. Al-Sadd also missed two penalties, with only three of their attempts hitting the net. This team, which has also won the Asian championship twice like Esteghlal, had an early exit from the AFC Champions League in 2017. In Esteghlal's lineup were Mehdi Rahmati, Robson Januario, Leandro Padovani, Milad Zakipour, Voria Ghafouri (Khosrow Heydari), Omid Ebrahimi, Omid Noorafkan, Mojtaba Haqdoost (Farshid Esmaeili), Behnam Barzayi (Mohsen Karimi), Ali Ghorbani, and Kaveh Rezaei. In Al-Sadd's lineup, Morteza Pourali Ganji, a defender of the Iranian national team, was present. Xavi, the former star of the Spanish national team and Barcelona, is also a member of Al-Sadd. Xavi scored his penalty but, along with his teammates, was eliminated in Tehran. Mehdi Rahmati, the captain of Esteghlal, played a significant role in his team's advancement by saving a penalty from the experienced Mohammad Kasourla, allowing Esteghlal to head into the Tehran derby with good morale, which will take place next Sunday. Alireza Mansourian called Rahmati at the end of the match to raise the Iranian flag together for Esteghlal fans, a scene that symbolized the end of disagreements between the coach and the player. Esteghlal has been grouped with Al-Ahli of the UAE, Al-Taawoun of Saudi Arabia, and Lokomotiv Tashkent. Persepolis is grouped with Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia and Al-Rayyan of Qatar, with the fourth team in this group being Al-Wahda of the UAE, which, like Esteghlal, was selected in a knockout match. Esteghlal Khuzestan, the champion of the Iranian Premier League, will face Al-Jazira of the UAE, Lekhwiya of Qatar, and Al-Fateh of Saudi Arabia.