Al-Arabi eliminated from 'Asian Challenge' with a loss to Istiklol

Al-Arabi’s first football team was eliminated from the AFC Challenge League after suffering a defeat against Tajikistan’s Istiklol in today’s match, which marked the second round of Group B.

Al-Arabi’s upcoming match against Lebanon’s Al-Najma has become a formality for the Green team, which finished at the bottom of the group table without any points. Meanwhile, the outcome of the clash between Syria’s Al-Humra Al-Fida, the group leaders with six points, and Istiklol, who sit in second place with three points, will determine the group winner.

Al-Humra Al-Fida secured a 2-1 victory over Al-Najma today. Al-Najma still has a chance to advance, provided that Al-Humra Al-Fida loses and Al-Najma defeats Al-Arabi.

Contrary to expectations, Al-Arabi failed to deliver the performance anticipated from them. The team continued its poor displays, lacking offensive threat and failing to build attacks effectively from the back.

In contrast, Istiklol dominated the match, controlling the flow of the game thanks to their effective positioning and movement. They capitalized on their superiority by taking the lead through Sorov’s goal in the 38th minute. The situation remained unchanged in the second half, as Istiklol maintained their dominance.

Al-Arabi’s hopes of equalizing were dashed in the 78th minute when Abdulaziz Nasiri’s shot deceived the goalkeeper but struck the crossbar.

In the 81st minute, substitute Shokrov scored the second goal with a powerful strike from outside the penalty area.