Dubai: Pride and an honourable third place finish in Group A are at stake as UAE’s Al Wasl welcome Iraq’s Al Zawraa to Zabeel Stadium on Matchday Six of the 2019 AFC Champions League on Tuesday.
Both sides were eliminated on the previous matchday as Zobahan and Al Nassr booked the two Round of 16 tickets from the group.
Al Zawraa’s bright return to the AFC Champions League ended in heartbreak a fortnight ago. The Iraqis looked destined for a 2-1 home win over Zobahan when Reza Habibzadeh struck late in added time to rescue a point for the visitors and consign Hakeem Shaker’s men to early elimination.
Al Wasl needed a win in Riyadh on Matchday Five, but instead were three goals down by the hour-mark and Khalil Khamis’ strike at the death served only to lessen the damage as the Emiratis were eliminated at the group stage for the second year running.
The match will be the last in the AFC Champions League for both teams until 2021 at least with Al Wasl settling for a bottom half finish in the UAE Pro League with one game to go and Al Zawraa finding themselves in fourth place, 22 points off the pace in the Iraqi League.
Source: the-afc.com