Saudi clubs begin their journey in the AFC Elite Champions League with three matches

On Monday, Saudi clubs launch their journey in the new edition of the AFC Champions League for the elite with three matches; Al-Ahly, the defending champion, begins its trip against Uzbekistan’s Pakhtakor in Jeddah, while Al-Ittihad is a guest of Al-Shamal of Qatar at Al-Bayt Stadium in Al-Khor, and Al-Qadisiyah returns to the continental front after many years of absence when it hosts Al-Wasl of the Emirates at Prince Mohammed bin Fahd Stadium.

The beginning of the continental journey comes before the local competitions enter the first pause period this season, coinciding with the FIFA International Days and the holding of the Arabian Gulf Cup tournament, “Gulf 27,” hosted by Saudi Arabia, which gives the three clubs an additional desire to end the first phase with victories that strengthen their presence before the pause.

In Al Khor, Al-Ittihad begins its continental adventure in high spirits after a series of positive results locally that led it to second place in the Saudi Professional League standings, at a time when it seeks to transfer its remarkable presence to the Asian arena.

Al-Ittihad had completed the contract for the Saudi clubs in the tournament and raised the number of its representatives to five after Al-Jazira defeated the UAE with a score of 4-1 in the playoff match, to reserve its place in the league stage.

The team, under the leadership of German Jens Vissing, is performing at an increasing level, and enters the North Face match with its eyes set on a first victory that will give it an ideal start in a long journey during which it looks forward to competing and going far.

Vissing has a list full of attacking options, led by Algerian Houssem Aouar, Moroccan Youssef En-Nesyri, Frenchman Georges Ilinykhina, and Dutchman Steven Bergwijn, in addition to his compatriot Georginio Wijnaldum and Colombian Richard Reus. These names give Al-Ittihad various solutions in the face of a competitor who enters the match with an unbeaten domestic record.

North Qatar does not appear to be an easy competitor. It occupies third place in the Qatari League with 8 points from four matches, during which it achieved two victories and two draws without suffering any losses.

The team is led by David Prats, and relies on a group of experienced elements led by Algerian Baghdad Bounedjah, Spaniard Pablo Mari, who had a short experience with Al Hilal last season, Senegalese Youssef Sabally, and Portuguese Thiago Silva.

In Jeddah, Al-Ahly returns to the tournament in which it took the stage in the last edition, when it receives Pakhtakor of Uzbekistan at the “Enmaa” Stadium in King Abdullah Sports City, setting before it a clear goal of starting the journey of defending its title with a victory.

Al-Ahly enters the continental competitions with great ambitions despite the fluctuations that accompanied its career locally. He played seven matches in the Saudi League, winning four of them and losing three without registering a draw, ranking fifth.

Al-Ahly appears this season with a different identity after the changes that occurred in the team, starting with the departure of its German coach, Matthias Jaesle, and the Dutchman Marino Pusic taking over, passing through the departure of Algerian Riyad Mahrez and Ivorian Franck Kessier.

On the other hand, Pusic is counting on the scoring power of Englishman Ivan Toney, along with Brazilian Galino, while the club has strengthened its ranks with a number of new deals, led by Frenchman Ibrahima Diaby, Portuguese Francisco Trincao, and Ukrainian Artem Bondarenko.

Al-Ahly hopes that the continental championship will be a space to restore stability and confidence after the fluctuations in its local results, especially since entering the competitions as the title holder puts it in front of a different responsibility, and makes it one of the most prominent teams nominated for the competition.

As for Pakhtakor, he arrives in Jeddah with great experience in Asian participations, although his continental results remained below his ambitions in many past editions.

The Uzbek team occupies second place in the local league, which is approaching its final stages, and arrives at the confrontation in good morale after recording two consecutive victories with three in the local competition, which gives it a measure of confidence before testing the defending champion.

In Dammam, the confrontation between Al-Qadisiyah and Al-Wasl is a different story. The Al-Qudsawi team returns to the continental front after many years of absence, setting its sights on recording a start worthy of the project that brought it back to Asian competitions.

Al-Qadisiyah succeeded in securing its continental place after its distinguished local season, and it reached the current championship while performing at remarkable levels under the leadership of Irishman Brendan Rodgers, and with a list of names that gives it the ability to exceed the limits of participation and search for going far.

Despite the exciting 3-3 draw against its traditional rival Al-Ettifaq in the final round of the league, Al-Qadisiyah is looking forward to showing a strong reaction against Al-Wasl and writing a successful start in its awaited continental appearance.

Rodgers has an arsenal of stars, led by Dutchman Tijjani Reynders, Italian Matteo Retegui, and Mexican Julian Quiñones, along with Spaniard Nacho Fernandez, while a group of prominent local players is present, led by Musab Al-Jawir and Muhammad Abu Al-Shamat.

On the other hand, Al-Wasl is in Saudi Arabia under the leadership of Portuguese Rui Vitoria, who knows the atmosphere of Saudi football well after having previously coached Al-Nassr, which gives the confrontation an additional technical dimension.

Al-Wasl occupies fifth place in the UAE League, and in turn has a number of players capable of making a difference, led by Brazilian Renato Junior, Nicolas Jimenez and Iranian striker Mehdi Taremi.

The seventh round of the Saudi Professional League witnessed an abundance of goals that reached 28, including two penalty kicks, in a week devoid of red cards.

Al-Hilal presented a terrifying attacking display after scoring the net against Al-Taawoun with a clean six, in a first for Al-Zaeem, by scoring 6 goals against Sukari Al-Qassim in one match in the competition, exceeding its scoring tally against it in the last 3 matches combined (5 goals).

Although Al-Nasr tied with Al-Khaleej, Abdullah Al-Hamdan succeeded in scoring in two consecutive matches for the first time since last spring, when he scored against Al-Najma and Al-Khaleej.

In the Eastern Region, the “Al-Qadisiyah and Al-Ittifaq derby” took the breath away by scoring 6 goals for the first time in the history of their confrontations in the competition, so Al-Ittifaq maintained its position as the last team to visit Al-Qadisiyah’s net with a hat-trick in the professionals since April 2026, topping the list of the league clubs with the most goals scored via substitutes with 3 goals, while Al-Qadisiyah confirmed its early attacking strength by scoring 9 goals in the first half during 7 rounds behind Al-Hilal.

In terms of individual achievements and records, Englishman Evan Toney equaled the historical record for the highest scoring tally by a player during the first 7 rounds since the 2009-2010 season by reaching goal number 10, emulating the legendary achievement of Omar Al-Somah with Al-Ahly in the 2016-2017 season.

The confrontation between Al-Ahly and Al-Hazm witnessed a quick surprise, with Al-Hazm scoring a goal after only 87 seconds, making it the second fastest goal in history in professional football after his goal against Al-Ittihad in 2009 (12 seconds), and the second fastest goal Al-Ahly has conceded in the competition since Al-Hilal player Savic’s goal in October 2023 (45 seconds), making Al-Hazm unique in being the only team to score two goals in the first 5 minutes this season.

On the Al-Ittihad side, Moroccan Youssef Al-Nusairi continued to shine by scoring in two successive matches against Al-Fayhaa and Al-Faisaly, repeating this series in the “Al-Ameed” shirt for the third time.

In the other part of the results, Al-Fateh suffered the bitterness of the weakest start in its history in the professionals, by failing to achieve any victory during the first 7 rounds for the second time after the 2016-2017 season, equating its lowest point tally with the same score (3 points).

For its part, Riyadh created the event by overthrowing Al-Khuloud after inflicting its first defeat this season after the latter’s exceptional start.

In public, the Al-Khaleej and Al-Nasr Al-Mashhad confrontation topped the list with 14,143 fans, followed by the Al-Qadisiyah and Al-Ittifaq derby with 9,143 spectators, then the Al-Ahly and Al-Hazm match with 6,158 fans, and the list concluded with the Al-Taawoun and Al-Hilal derby with 4,152 fans.