After the AFC Champions League draw event in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday, Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr was placed in Group E. Persepolis FC, Al Duhail SC, and FC Istiklol are the other three teams in Al Nassr’s group.
In this season’s AFC Champions League, Saudi Arabia is one of the four nations sending the most ambassadors. Uzbekistan, South Korea, and Japan are the other three nations that are represented by four clubs.
Ronaldo’s Al Nassr, Mumbai City in AFC Champions League group stage draw
Persepolis FC, based in Tehran, Iran, earned a spot in the AFC Champions League by winning the Persian Gulf Pro League for the 15th time, tying a record. Notably, Persepolis secured second place in the continental tournament in 2018 and 2020.
Managing Al Duhail SC, the reigning champions of the Qatar Stars League, is Hernan Crespo, a former Argentine international player. A key player in Al Duhail is Edmilson, a Belgian, who topped the goal-scoring charts in the 2022 AFC Champions League.
Al Duhail, boasting eight league championships, had a dominant domestic campaign last year, emerging victorious in 16 out of 22 league games and suffering just one defeat. The team, known as the Red Knights and established in 2009, remarkably clinched the league title in their first two seasons.
FC Istiklol, a team from Tajikistan, secured a place in the AFC Champions League by emerging victorious in the Tajik League, marking their 11th title and extending a record. Established in 2007, their most remarkable achievement on the continental stage was clinching the AFC President’s Cup in 2012. Additionally, FC Istiklol has twice finished as the second-place team in the AFC Cup, in 2015 and 2017.