JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia — Traktor Sazi FC from Iran has arrived in Saudi Arabia to confirm their participation in the AFC Champions League Elite round of 16, despite the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
The West Asia playoffs were postponed in March following the outbreak of war initiated by the United States and Israel against Iran. With the rescheduling of the round of 16 and the relocation of Iran’s match against UAE’s Shabab Al-Ahli to Jeddah, doubts had arisen about Traktor — the 2025 Iranian league champions — participating in the tournament.
Following missile strikes into Saudi Arabia, Iran had also issued a ban on its sports teams traveling to “hostile” nations on March 26.
Nevertheless, Traktor made the arduous journey to Jeddah, traveling from their base in Tabriz, Iran, overland to Turkey, and then flying to their destination.
“Our circumstances are challenging, and tomorrow’s 90 minutes against Shabab Al-Ahli will not be easy,” commented Traktor coach Mohammad Rabiei during a press conference on Monday, a day before the match.
The team has not played competitively since February 28 due to the suspension of the Iranian league.
“We have great ambitions to win our forthcoming matches and reach the finals of Asia,” Rabiei added. “From tomorrow, everyone will witness our high level of play, despite the significant obstacles we’ve encountered recently.”
On the same day, Karim Benzema missed a crucial penalty during a shootout, leading to Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal falling 4-2 to Qatar’s Al-Sadd after their round-of-16 match concluded 3-3 following extra time.
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic opened the scoring for Al Hilal, a four-time champion, but Brazilian forward Claudinho equalized shortly after. Not long after halftime, Salem Al-Dawsari put Al Hilal back in the lead, only for Rafa Mujica to reply for Al-Sadd.
Marcos Leonardo restored the advantage for Al Hilal in the 67th minute, but former Liverpool star Roberto Firmino leveled the game again, sending it to extra time and penalties.
In another match, Riyad Mahrez scored in the 117th minute, securing a 1-0 victory for defending champion Al Ahli of Saudi Arabia over Qatar’s Al-Duhail. Earlier in extra time, England striker Ivan Toney missed a penalty for Al Ahli.
Jeddah will host the remainder of the tournament, with the quarterfinals kicking off on Thursday and the finals set for April 25.
Information for this report was sourced from The Associated Press.