Khaberni - The Asian Football Confederation revealed that the United Arab Emirates, specifically Al Maktoum Stadium in Dubai, will host the match between Al-Hussein Irbid and Esteghlal of Iran, as part of the first leg of the round of 16 in the Asian Champions League 2, scheduled for next Tuesday, the tenth of this month, at 4:45 PM.
The continental union decided to postpone the match being held in the Iranian capital, Tehran, due to regional challenges and current circumstances surrounding the country, leading Esteghlal to request transferring their game to the UAE and designating Al Maktoum Stadium as their home ground. The Asian Football Confederation officially approved this request. Consequently, the second leg will be held at Amman International Stadium on the 17th of this month, according to Al-Ghad.
Al-Hussein Irbid topped Group 3 in the group stages, maintaining its perfect record by qualifying for the knockout stages in its three Asian Champions League participations. It reached the quarter-finals in the 2004 edition and advanced to the round of 16 last season.
For its part, Esteghlal is making its eighth knockout appearance in AFC tournaments, having qualified for the round of 16 by finishing second in Group 1, while the Iranian team attempts to overcome its challenging phase amid reports of several foreign players leaving the squad recently.
Al-Hussein's team looks to break the round of 16 jinx and compensate for last season's failure, when it was eliminated from the tournament at the same stage by Sharjah of UAE via penalty shootouts, following a win exchange in the home and away matches.
Despite Al-Hussein's success in securing a home victory and the support of its fans, luck was not on their side in the decisive penalty kicks, allowing Sharjah to continue its journey towards eventually winning the title, which made the defeat even more painful for the yellow team.
During the current edition's group stages, Al-Hussein played two matches against another Iranian team, Sepahan Isfahan, managing to win the home match in Amman with a score of 1-0, signed by Mahmoud Kharouba, before suffering a defeat by the same score in the return match held in Tehran.
Despite balanced results in these two matches, Al-Hussein secured the top spot in its group, advancing ahead of Sepahan, which also qualified for the next round.
The figures show a clear advantage for Al-Hussein compared to its opponent Esteghlal in the group stage, as the sole representative of Jordanian football in current international competitions accumulated nine points from only four matches, achieving three victories against a single loss.
In contrast, Esteghlal collected eight points from six matches, reflecting its fluctuating results at the beginning of the journey, before experiencing a gradual improvement in performance in the latter rounds.
Esteghlal played in Al-Wehdat's group during the first round, where it ended the away match in Amman with a 1-1 draw, before dominating the return match in Tehran, securing a 2-0 victory.
Previously, Al-Hussein faced Esteghlal in a friendly match between the two teams in Turkey in July, as part of their preparations for the season's start, where Al-Hussein achieved a 2-1 victory, with goals from Aref Al-Haj and Abdullah Al-Attar.
Al-Hussein is undergoing this stage under new technical leadership, after hiring Brazilian coach Ni Franco, who led the team in one Shield tournament match, losing to Al-Ramtha 2-0, before subsequently registering two consecutive wins in the Professional League against Al-Jazeera with a score of 4-0, and Al-Salt 1-0, followed by a recent goalless draw with Al-Ramtha.
This continental participation is part of an ambitious project that Al-Hussein Club's management has been working on for years, aiming to achieve international success that equals its local achievements, having won the last two editions of the Professional League title and capturing the local Super Cup in the last two editions as well.
