JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Iranian club Tractor has arrived in Saudi Arabia amid the war in the Middle East and confirmed on Monday it will play in the AFC Champions League Elite round of 16.
The West Asia playoffs were postponed in March after the United States and Israel launched a war against Iran. After the round of 16 was rescheduled and Iran’s game against Shabab Al-Ahli of the United Arab Emirates moved to the Saudi city of Jeddah, questions lingered over whether Tractor — the 2025 Iranian league champion — would take part.
Iran has fired missiles into Saudi Arabia, a U.S. ally.
Tractor arrived in Jeddah on Sunday after a long journey; traveling by land from its home city of Tabriz in northwestern Iran into Turkey and then flying from Istanbul.
“Our situation going into this match is complicated, and the 90 minutes against Shabab Al-Ahli will be difficult for us,” Tractor coach Mohammad Rabiei said in a press conference on Monday, a day before the match.
The team has not played a competitive game since Feb. 28 as the Iranian league has been suspended.
“We have high ambitions to win our upcoming matches and reach the Asian final,” Rabiei added. ”Starting tomorrow everyone will see the high level we possess, despite the major challenges we have faced recently.”
On Monday, Karim Benzema missed a penalty in a shootout as Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal lost to Qatar’s Al-Sadd 4-2 after their round-of-16 match ended 3-3 after extra time.
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic opened the scoring for Al-Hilal, a four-time champion, in the first half but Brazilian forward Claudinho equalized seven minutes later. Shortly after halftime, Salem Al-Dawsari put Al-Hilal back in front, only for Rafa Mujica to level again.
Marcos Leonardo restored the lead in the 67th minute, and three minutes later former Liverpool forward Roberto Firmino made it 3-3 to send the game into extra time and then penalties.
Elsewhere, Riyad Mahrez scored after 117 minutes to give defending champion Al-Ahli of Saudi Arabia a 1-0 win over Al-Duhail of Qatar. Earlier in extra time, England striker Ivan Toney missed a penalty for Al-Ahli.
Jeddah will stage the rest of the tournament. The quarterfinals begin on Thursday and the final is scheduled for April 25.
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