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Qatar’s Al Sadd came from behind to hold the Iraqi side Al Shorta 1-1 in their AFC Champions League Elite League Stage opener at the Al Zawraa Stadium in Baghdad Monday. Al Shorta took the lead through Dominique Mendy in the first half but Hassan al-Haydos equalised for the Qatari side in the second period as the sides had to be satisfied with a stalemate. Al Shorta controlled the narrative from the start with Mendy almost beating Al Sadd keeper Meshaal Barsham in the 16th minute when his shot from distance sailed just over the crossbar. Felix Sanchez’s Al Sadd almost found a way through eight minutes later when Al Haydos lobbed a neat pass to Rafa Mujica, only for the forward to miscue his volley from inside the box. Al Shorta’s pressure was rewarded in the 28th minute with Mendy marking his debut with a memorable goal after latching onto a poor clearance to drive into the box and drilling the ball past Barsham. Al Sadd nearly responded 10 minutes later with Akram Afif firing wide from distance, while Mujica saw his effort come back off the right post after slipping past two Al Shorta defenders and keeper Ahmed Basil. The Iraqi side stayed on top of things in the second half with Leonel Ateba threatening in the 56th minute before Al Sadd hit back six minutes later. Mujica’s effort was blocked before Boualem Khoukhi saw his header denied by the bar from the ensuing corner, which led to the Spaniard seeing his cross into the box deflected onto the path of Al Haydos, who struck with precision into the bottom left corner. Al Shorta piled on the pressure in the closing stages with Mendy and Abdulrazzaq Qasim seeing their efforts from distance fall short while Mahmoud Al Mawas left Barsham off the hook through his free-kick. Afif had a chance to snatch victory in the third minute of stoppage time but skied his close range effort as the sides settled for the share of the spoils. Ten-man Gharafa lose in thriller Igor Coronado struck deep into injury time to earn hosts Sharjah FC a thrilling 4-3 win over 10-man Al Gharafa at Sharjah Stadium as the Emirati side kicked off their AFC Champions League Elite campaign in dramatic style. Coronado slid his shot beyond substitute goalkeeper Lecomte Amine nine minutes into stoppage time to complete a remarkable comeback for the AFC Champions League Two 2024/25 winners, who had trailed for much of the match. The Qataris were given the opportunity to go in front in the 33rd minute when referee Majed al-Shamrani was called to the pitch side monitor to review a tackle by Geronimo Poblete on Yacine Brahimi, with the official eventually pointing to the spot. Brahimi took full advantage, stepping up to fire a right-foot strike high into the top corner and well beyond the dive of Darwish Mohammad. Vladimir Prijovic almost levelled two minutes into added time when he fizzed a shot wide of Khalifa Ababacar’s left post while seconds later Coronado, introduced from the bench just moments later, clipped the frame of the goal with another effort from the edge of the area. Sharjah’s hopes were further dented four minutes into added time when Brahimi’s perfectly weighted pass released Joselu into the area and the Spanish striker put his first-time effort past Mohammad. The home side looked beaten at the interval but halved the deficit on the hour mark to spark a revival. Ousmane Camara was brought down by Seydou Sano’s challenge and, although Ababacar saved Manaj’s penalty, the striker converted the rebound. Two minutes later the teams were level. The Al Gharafa defence made a mess of clearing Coronado’s cross from the right and Camara thumped his shot into the bottom corner from eight yards out. A foul by Shaheen Abdalla on Joselu handed the initiative back to the visitors, the Sharjah captain upending the former Real Madrid forward, who converted the penalty to put his side back in front in the 73rd minute. Ababacar’s clumsy foul on Manaj in the dying minutes saw the goalkeeper handed a red card and Manaj stepped up to thump his free kick home while nine minutes later Coronado claimed the points for Sharjah with a left-foot finish that he slotted past the Amine. Duhail face away test against Hilal Qatar’s Al Duhail will take on Saudi giants Al Hilal in their opening AFC Champions League Elite Tuesday. Duhail, who have only once advanced to the semi-finals of the AFC Champions League, will be determined to throw a spanner in Hilal's bid for the title. The records, however, are not in their favour as Duhail have lost their last three matches against Saudi teams in the competition. Hilal - after their semi-final disappointment last season - can be expected to spare no effort in their bid for a fifth Asian title, which spells danger for Qatar's Duhail. Hilal walked away 7-0 winners the last time the two sides met on the continental stage - in the semi-finals of the 2022 edition - which stretched their unbeaten run against Duhail to six games. Such is their record that Hilal have only lost once at home in 12 meetings against teams from Qatar on the continental stage.

Al Shorta will have to dust off rust when they host Al Sadd SC in their opening AFC Champions League Elite 2025/26 tie Monday.Al Shorta have yet to kick off their Iraqi domestic campaign while reigning Qatar champions Al Sadd will have the benefit of having already played several competitive matches.Both sides endured contrasting fortunes on the continental stage last season - Al Shorta's campaign ended in the League Stage while Al Sadd advanced to the quarter-finals."I'm happy to be in Baghdad, and I hope the match will be enjoyable for the fans," Al Sadd coach Felix Sanchez said Sunday. "We realize the importance of the tournament with its new format."What's most important now is for the players to be in the best possible condition for the match," he added.Al Sadd defender Tarqe Salman said Sunday: "A strong and somewhat a difficult match awaits us against the Shorta. Our loss against Al Shahaniya was a setback (in QSL), but we are capable of getting back on the right track."It will be a first meeting between the sides and the two will be determined to start on the front foot with Al Shorta having never won their opening AFC Champions League match while 2011 champions Al Sadd are winless in their last six curtain raisers.Al Shorta, in fact, only managed a single victory as they finished 11th in the League Stage last season.Al Sadd will be confident of taking the points, having ended a three-season wait by advancing to the knockout stage last season and the mercurial Akram Afif - who was involved in goals in each of his last five AFC Champions League Elite matches - will be expected to lead their charge.Sharjah FC (UAE) v Al Gharafa SCSharjah FC and Al Gharafa SC will target an opening day win when they square off in the AFC Champions League Elite 2025/26 Monday.UAE's Sharjah will be aiming to maintain their momentum from their AFC Champions League Two 2024/25 triumph while Qatar's Al Gharafa will be determined to avoid last season's league stage exit.The sides have kicked off their respective domestic forms relatively well, with Sharjah in the upper half of the standings.Al Gharafa defeated Al Sailiya 2-0 on Friday to sit third in the Qatar Stars League standings and will look forward to a first meeting with Sharjah.The UAE side, who were held 2-2 by Khor Fakkan in their league tie on Friday, will be determined to maximise home ground advantage, with Sharjah having a poor record against teams from Qatar on the continental stage - having only won once in six previous encounters.Al Gharafa will be keen to avoid last season's troubles on the continental stage, where they won only two of their matches to finish 10th in the standings.

President of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and Senior Vice-President of the FIFA Council Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa expressed his full solidarity with the State of Qatar following the brutal aggression on Doha on Tuesday.In his remarks to Qatar News Agency (QNA), the AFC President said that the Asian football family stands with the State of Qatar, praising the country's position on the international map and its noble roles in establishing the values of love and peace around the world, asking Allah to protect Qatar and its people, to perpetuate the blessings of security and stability, and to always remain an oasis of security, peace, and prosperity.

Qatar notched their second win after edging India 2-1 in Group H of the AFC U-23 Asian Cup 2026 qualifiers Saturday. India made a promising start and looked dangerous every time they went forward but it was Qatar who took the lead in the 18th minute.Al Hashmi al-Hussain rose highest to nod home his header which looped over India keeper Sahil Poonia and into the back of the net. The second half saw India push more bodies forward and they levelled the score in the 52nd minute after Muhammad Suhail converted Mohammed Sanan’s cross with a headed finish.However, India suffered a blow in the 65th minute when Pramveer Singh was sent off for picking up his second yellow card after bringing down Noureldin Ibrahim inside the box.Jassem al-Sharshani made no mistake from the spot to seal Qatar the victory. Qatar face Bahrain in their final fixture on Tuesday with India taking on Brunei.In another Group H match, Bahrain bounced back from their opening day loss against India to hand Brunei a 10-0 thrashing to reignite the nation’s hopes.

Qatar romped to a 13-0 win over Brunei in their Group H clash at the AFC U23 Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2026 Qualifiers at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium Wednesday.Qatar’s opening goal came in the fourth minute through Moustafa Asar and Jassem al-Sharshani claiming their second two minutes later.Mubarak Hamza converted a penalty for their third in the 11th minute as the hosts scored their seventh in the 33rd minute through Abdulaziz Hassan as the West Asian side proceeded to race to a 7-0 lead at the interval.Three more goals came within the span of four minutes in the second half, with Asar claiming his hat-trick in the 54th, Noureldan Ibrahim adding another two minutes later and then Asar again in the 57th minute.Marawan Brimil put his name on the scoresheet in the 70th and 83rd minutes before Ibrahim wrapped proceedings with his brace in the fifth minute of stoppage time.In the other Group H clash, India eked out a 2-0 win over Bahrain at the Suheim Bin Hamad Stadium.A first half strike by Muhammad Suhail and another in the dying minutes by Shivaldo Singh was enough to give India victory over Bahrain in their group opener.Both sides were evenly matched in the first half an hour before India broke the deadlock in the 31st minute through Suhail, who plays for Indian Super League side Punjab FC.While Bahrain had an edge in possession in the second half, they failed to find the equaliser, managing only three shots at target.They lost any chance of gaining a point when India doubled their lead five minutes into stoppage time with a goal from Singh.Bahrain will play Brunei on Saturday.