Al-Qadsia and Al-Arabi face 'Tajik Challenge'

Al-Qadsia are aiming to secure a place in the quarter-finals, while their rivals, Al-Arabi, look to keep their qualification hopes alive as they face Tajik sides Regar-TadAZ and Istiklol respectively tomorrow, Tuesday, in the second matchday of the AFC Challenge League group stage.

At the Mohammed Al-Hamad Stadium, host Al-Qadsia seek to continue their winning run in Group C and potentially secure top spot and early qualification, provided the other match between India’s Gokulam Kerala and Bangladesh’s Fortis ends in a draw.

The “Yellow” side began their campaign in the tournament, in which they are participating for the first time, with an easy 3-0 victory over Fortis, while Regar-TadAZ snatched a hard-fought 2-1 win against Gokulam Kerala in the dying moments.

Despite satisfaction with the result, Al-Qadsia did not deliver the performance expected of a squad boasting quality domestic and foreign players. They are now tasked with achieving both dominance and a positive result against their toughest competitor for a qualification spot, surpassing their display in the opening match.

Al-Qadsia coach Mohammed Ibrahim is expected to make limited changes to the lineup if defenders Muath Al-Dhafiri and Khaled Sabah are unavailable. This could necessitate using Ivorian midfielder Cedric Djibou in central defense, as he did late in the previous match. Meanwhile, the experienced manager must find a solution for the team’s recent struggle with wasting clear scoring opportunities.

On the other side, Cameroonian influence dominates the list of foreign players at Regar-TadAZ, with five players: Joseph Mbolu, Joseph Fiomba, Ndongo Foye, Martin Assoumou, and Frank Kengy.

Among the Tajik nationals, playmaker Azizbek Khitov, young defender Abdul Samad Mirzayev, striker Nazim Babajonov, and veteran Bakhodir Kalonov stand out; all are former or current international players. Additionally, Faridun Davlatov, who came on as a substitute in the final minutes against Gokulam and scored the equalizing and winning goals, is a key figure. The team is led by national coach Ali Shir Tokhtayev.

Regar-TadAZ boasts an impressive domestic record, having won the league seven times and the Tajik Cup eight times, along with three continental titles in the AFC President’s Cup.

In the Tajik capital, Dushanbe, another “Tajik-Kuwaiti” clash will take place tomorrow, pitting Al-Arabi against Istiklol, hosts of Group B.

Unlike the Al-Qadsia vs. Regar-TadAZ fixture, the Al-Arabi vs. Istiklol match will feature two teams that lost their opening group games. Any further slip-up by either side will likely eliminate them from contention early.

Al-Arabi’s interim coach, Mohammed Abdulnabi, who replaced sacked Croatian Goran Sablic, is expected to have identified and addressed the errors made in the previous match, despite the tight turnaround between games.

Abdulnabi and his staff are also anticipated to have analyzed Istiklol’s opening group match to identify their strengths and weaknesses.

The team will be without international midfielder Khaled Al-Murshed, who traveled to Dubai for treatment of an injury sustained in the first match.

Istiklol put in a strong performance against Al-Najma but failed to capitalize on their chances. A naive defensive error also led to them conceding the match-winning goal.

In the same group, Al-Hamra will face Al-Najma, with the winner likely to secure qualification for the next round.