DOHA (Qatar): Iran’s Esteghlal FC face an all-or-nothing encounter against confirmed Group A winners Al Ahli Saudi FC on Wednesday.
The Iran club need three points to secure passage to the 2020 AFC Champions League Round of 16.
Six points were enough to secure the top spot in the three-team group for Al Ahli after Esteghlal and Al Shorta played out a 1-1 draw on Matchday Five.
“I have to say this is a very important game for us and we have to only think about winning to qualify to the next round,” said Esteghlal head coach Majid Namjoo-Motlagh.
The Sunday fixture was Al Shorta’s last, meaning they ended the group stage with five points. Esteghlal, who are bottom with two points, can eclipse the Iraqis should they beat Al Ahli by a two-goal margin.
A 1-0 win for the Tehran-based side would mean disciplinary record will be the tie breaker between them and Al Shorta.
“In the previous game, we did not do well in set-pieces and we did not take our chances, but of course those are lessons we learned from that game and will look to show more focus in those two areas in the next game to get the win,” added Majid.
“We need to be calm and only focus on getting the three points. Al Ahli are a good and respectable team, but we are determined to win and go to the Round of 16 as representatives of Iran.
“We will not look at our opponents and their position in the group being already qualified, we only focus on our situation that we need the three points to qualify to the next round. This will be our priority.”
The two teams had met on Matchday Two, with Al Ahli walking away with the three points in Jeddah.
Salman Al Moasher netted both Al Ahli’s goals either side of an Amir Arsalan Motahari strike for Esteghlal in a 2-1 win for the Saudis. (Source: AFC)
