Tractor Sazi and Foolad Excluded from AFC Champions League

Tractor Sazi in Tabriz and Foolad in Doha were eliminated from advancing to the knockout stage of the AFC Champions League after losing to their opponents. Thus, the last match for both teams in the group stage will be ceremonial. Tractor Sazi faced Nasaf Qarshi of Uzbekistan at home in their fifth match in the AFC Champions League, ending with a 2-1 victory for Nasaf Qarshi, repeating the result of the first match. Tractor Sazi fielded a significantly altered lineup, with the team's coach resting Luciano Edinho, Andranik Timuryan, and several other players due to the importance of their next domestic league match. Toni Oliveira's players started the match aggressively, preparing several attacks on the opponent's goal. They took 10 corner kicks in the first half and even hit the post with a shot from Mehrdad Bayrami in the 15th minute. Six minutes later, a header from Mirhani Hashemi again rattled the post of Nasaf Qarshi. In the 51st minute, Mehdi Kiani scored for Tractor Sazi from a free kick over 20 meters away, but six minutes later, Arthur equalized. In the 70th minute, a corner kick from Arthur went directly into the Tractor Sazi goal, allowing the visiting team to turn a lost game into a victory. The entry of Edinho and Timuryan did not change the result. Hamed Lak, Khaled Shafiei, Mirhani Hashemi, Shahin Saghebi, Habib Gardani, Mehdi Kiani, Ahmad Kamdar (59- Andranik Timuryan), Saeed Aghaei (68- Farid Karimi), Mohammad Pourrahmatollah (78- Edinho), Saman Nariman-Jahan, and Mehrdad Bayrami played for Tractor Sazi. Tractor Sazi ended up at the bottom of the table with 4 points. Nasaf Qarshi climbed to second place. Al-Ahli of the UAE is in third place, and Al-Ahli of Saudi Arabia leads with 11 points. After the match, Toni Oliveira faced harsh criticism from local reporters and responded, 'I am also upset about not advancing, but no one asked me why when you came to Tractor, the team was fifth, and now it has gone to the top of the table. Our work in 90 minutes is much easier than having to answer you here. Championship in the Premier League is not guaranteed, and we must continue to strive.' In another match, Foolad Khuzestan faced Al-Sadd of Qatar. This match ended with a 1-0 defeat for Foolad, leaving the second Iranian football representative also unable to advance to the next stage. After losing to Al-Hilal, this was Foolad's second consecutive defeat. Brazilian striker Luiz Morikoi scored the only goal of the match, elevating his team above Al-Hilal to the top of the table. Ali Salimi, Ahmad Al-Naimi, Masarich, Omid Khaledi, Youssef Vakiya, Chago, Mehdi Badrlou (Bahman Kamal), Sasan Ansari (Reza Ahmadi), Mohsen Muslim, Ismail Sharifat, and Alois Nang played for Foolad Khuzestan.