Coach Tony Popovic has selected two uncapped attackers, Cristian Volpato and Tete Yengi, in Australia's World Cup squad, aiming to boost the team's attacking prowess. Several players were cut, including Martin Boyle and Kye Rowles.
Al-Ahli of Saudi Arabia successfully defended their AFC Champions League Elite crown with a 1-0 victory over first-time finalists Machida Zelvia of Japan on Saturday. The Saudi side played with 10 men for almost an hour after Zakaria Hawsawi was sent off but managed to keep Japanse opponents at bay. Winger Riyad Mahrez praised his team's resilience, saying playing ten against eleven is nearly impossible.
Suudi ekibi Al Ahli, AFC Şampiyonlar Ligi finalinde Japonya'nın Machida Zelvia takımını 96. dakikada Firas Al Bureykan'ın attığı golle 1-0 mağlup ederek üst üste ikinci kez şampiyon oldu. Al Ahli, 68. dakikada Zakaria Al Hawsawi ve 120. dakikada Mohamed Abdurrahman'ın kırmızı kart görmesiyle 9 kişi kaldı.
Al Ahli, AFC Şampiyonlar Ligi finalinde Japonya'nın Machida Zelvia ekibini uzatma dakikalarında 1-0 yenerek üst üste ikinci kez şampiyon oldu. Firas Albirakan'ın 96. dakikada attığı gol galibiyeti getirdi. Al Ahli'den Zakaria Al Hawsawi ve Mohammed Abdulrahman kırmızı kart gördü. Milli futbolcu Merih Demiral, organizasyonu üst üste iki kez kazanan ilk Türk futbolcu oldu.
Machida Zelvia, a Japanese club that was playing non-league football as recently as 2013, are one win away from becoming Asian Champions League champions. The Tokyo suburban club, led by a former high-school coach and averaging 14,000 fans, face Saudi Arabia's defending champions Al-Ahli in Saturday's final in Jeddah. They have already beaten big-spending Al Ittihad in this competition.
Chinese referee Ma Ning remained in Saudi Arabia despite claims on Tuesday that he had been removed from the AFC Champions League Elite tournament following a controversial quarter-final performance. Reports from Saudi Arabia media alleged that Ma was dropped and had left the country after Al-Ittihad’s 1-0 loss to Japanese team Machida Zelvia on Friday in Jeddah. Chinese media Beijing Youth Daily, however, rebutted the report the same day, stating that the Asian Football Confederation (AFC)...
