Al Ain’s loss to Zakho complicates qualification calculations in the Gulf Champions League

Al Ain team completed its mission to qualify for the semi-finals of the Gulf Champions Club Football League, after losing to its guest, Zakho Al Iraqi, with a goal to no return, in the match that brought them together today at Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium, in the fourth round of the group stage.

The only goal of the match was scored by Zakho player Nasser Mohamedou in the 53rd minute, with a powerful shot from outside the penalty area, giving his team a valuable victory that strengthened its lead in the group.

Al-Zaeem entered the match occupying second place in the group standings with 6 points, after achieving two consecutive victories in the first and second rounds, before suffering two successive losses to Zakho, which complicated his calculations in the race to qualify for the semi-finals.

Al Ain had started its tournament with a 4-1 victory over Bahrain’s Sitra, then returned with an important victory from Kuwait over Al Qadisiyah with an unanswered goal, but the decline in results in the last two rounds cast a shadow over its chances of passing through to the next round.

On the other hand, Zakho raised his score to 10 points at the top of the group, confirming his strong presence as a prominent competitor for the qualification tickets, which increases the difficulty of Al Ain’s task in the remaining rounds.

It is noteworthy that Al Ain is competing in the Gulf Championship, relying on its reserve squad led by Italian coach Matteo Lombardo, in light of the focus of the first team, led by Serbian Vladimir Ivic, on local competitions, as it leads the ADNOC Professional League table, in addition to reaching the final of the Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank Cup.