ACL Playoff: Difficult Task Ahead of Foolad against Al-Ain
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Foolad football team of Iran will the UAE’s Al-Ain on Saturday in the 2021 AFC Champions League playoff round.
The Emirati club is aiming to reach the AFC Champions League group stage for the 16th time in its history.
The UAE side has never lost a playoff game, having beaten Indonesia’s Sriwijaya FC in 2011, Bahrain’s Malkiya SC in 2018 and Uzbekistan’s Bunyodkor last year.
Foolad, on the other side, has never contested a playoff match, having appeared in one edition before qualifying playoffs were introduced and qualified to the group stage directly in two subsequent appearances.
Goalkeeper Mohsen Forouzan, who has been one of the brightest points in Foolad’s season, will be the team’s key man in the match.
He contributed nine clean sheets for the side that boasts the Iranian league’s second meanest defense, conceding just 11 goals so far.
The match will be held in Riyadh’s Faisal bin Fahad Stadium.
