The three Qatari football representatives, Al Sadd, Al Duhail and Al Gharafa, raise the slogan of compensation when they compete tomorrow (Monday) and the day after tomorrow (Tuesday) in the fourth round of the first stage of the AFC Elite Football Champions League in order to revive the hopes of the competition.
The three teams are looking forward to overcoming the setback of the last round after suffering a loss, hoping to regain full chances of passing to the round of 16 in the Western Region, by being in the top eight positions out of 12 teams.
Al-Duhail will host the Emirati team, Shabab Al-Ahly, at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium tomorrow (Monday), while Al-Gharafa will face its guest, Al-Hilal Saudi Arabia, at Thani Bin Jassim Stadium on the same day. As for Al-Sadd, it will face Jassim Bin Hamad, the defending champion of Saudi Arabia, the day after tomorrow (Tuesday).
Al-Duhail is looking forward to achieving its first victory in the tournament after losing twice and one draw, collecting one point with which it ranked tenth.
The team of Algerian coach Jamal Belmadi enters the match under great pressure after losing to Al-Wahda of the United Arab Emirates by a goal by three in Abu Dhabi in the last round, before suffering a loss in the eighth round of the Qatari League against Al-Gharafa with the same result, dropping to sixth place with 11 points.
On the other hand, Shabab Al-Ahly enters the match with great moral motivation after the broad victory over Nasaf of Uzbekistan by four goals to one in the last round, bringing the score to the seventh point, occupying third place, behind on goal difference from second-placed Saudi Al-Ahly.
Al-Gharafa, which is undergoing a strong test against Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia, which is nominated to compete for the title, is looking forward to achieving a positive result and overcoming a heavy loss it suffered in the last round against Al-Ahly of Saudi Arabia, the defending champion, with a clean 4-0, the second in the tournament after falling in the opening match against Al-Sharjah of the United Arab Emirates 3-4, before achieving victory over Al-Shorta of Iraq with two unanswered goals in the second round to collect three points, occupying eighth place, the last place leading to the round of 16.
In turn, Al Hilal seeks to continue its victories after achieving the full mark in the last round with a third successive victory, which was at the expense of Al Sadd by three goals to one, to reach the ninth point at the top of the league stage for the Western Region.
Al-Sadd sets a date with Al-Ahly Saudi Arabia, the defending champion, in order to correct the course in search of the first victory in the tournament.
Al-Sadd had suffered its first loss against Al-Hilal in the last round, after two draws in the first two rounds against Al-Shorta of Iraq and Al-Sharjah of the Emirates, with the same score of 1-1, collecting only two points, occupying ninth place.
Al Sadd is counting on an awakening that it showed locally in the ninth round of the Qatari League with a wide victory over Al Rayyan by five goals to one, overcoming the lack of victory in the previous four matches with two draws and two losses, bringing the score to 11 points in seventh place.
In turn, Al-Ahly Saudi Arabia enters the confrontation with the ecstasy of a broad victory over Al-Gharafa by four goals without a response, raising the balance to the seventh point in second place, two points behind its compatriot Al-Hilal, who leads the Western League standings.
According to the tournament system, 24 teams will participate in the competitions, distributed into (two separate leagues), each league includes 12 teams distributed between the East and West regions, with each team in each league playing eight matches with eight different competitors in its region, with four matches at home and the same away from home, with the first round concluding on February 18, 2026.
The top eight finishers in each region qualify for the round of 16, scheduled to be held between March 2 and 11, 2026, with the final rounds being held in a pool system in Saudi Arabia, starting from the quarter-finals until the final match, during the period from April 17 to 25, 2026.
