Al Shamal held 1-1 by Al Ittihad; Al Sadd go down 3-0 in Basra

Georginio Wijnaldum salvaged a point for former champions Al Ittihad with virtually the last kick of the game as Saudi Arabia’s Al Ittihad drew 1-1 with tournament debutants Al Shamal in the AFC Champions League Elite 2026-27 at the Al Bayt Stadium on Monday.

The Dutch midfielder stole in to score deep into added time and cancel out Baghdad Bounedjah’s 63rd minute strike, which had looked like it would earn the Qatari side a dream debut in their first-ever appearance in the continental championship.

But Al Shamal, who qualified for the AFC Champions League Elite for the first time with a runners-up finish in the QSL last season, had been forced to defend desperately in the dying moments against the 2004 and 2005 champions and Wijnaldum eventually struck.

The visitors had made a positive start with Babacar Seck shovelling Dion Lopy’s early strike from outside the area to partial safety, forcing Musaab Khidir to knock the ball out for a corner while the Al Shamal goalkeeper gathered Ahmed Al Ghamdi’s weak shot soon after.

It was the home side that went closest to opening the scoring in the 16th minute when Mohamed Ben Romdhane received possession inside the penalty area from Alex Collado, quickly turning to unleash a rising right-foot shot that clipped the top of the crossbar.

Al Shamal hit the frame of the goal again with 12 minutes remaining in the half, Baghdad Bounedjah’s crossing from the right towards the near post from where Wesley Said threw himself at a header that thumped against the woodwork.

Steve Bergwijn tested Seck from distance two minutes from the end of the half with a low shot that the Al Shamal goalkeeper was fortunate to push to safety after miss-timing his intervention.

Al Shamal’s Callado was denied by Predrag Rajkovic eight minutes after the restart when the Spanish midfielder cut back onto his right foot to shoot towards goal but, by the 63rd minute, Georgin the home side had gone ahead.

Bounedjah shuttled possession to Ben Romdhane and, after surging into the penalty area, the Al Shamal captain received a return pass that set him up to fire the ball beyond Rajkovic.

Wijnaldum and Bergwijn both went close to pulling Al Ittihad level while Ben Romdhane had the ball in the Al Ittihad net again only for his effort to be ruled out for offside.

But Wijnaldum calmly stroked in the equalizer from just inside the penalty area in the fourth minute of stoppage time after Bergiwjn’s cutback from the left side to salvage a point for Jens Wissing’s side.

Esteghlal FC took advantage of their chances to overcome Qatar’s Al Sadd SC 3-0 in their AFC Champions League Elite opener at the Basra International Stadium in Iraq on Monday.

Jasir Asani capitalized on a defensive error to fire the Iran outfit ahead in the ninth minute before Saeid Saharkhizan extended their lead two minutes after the break and Esmaeil Gholizadeh sealed the match five minutes into injury time.

In a match largely dominated by the 19-time Qatar Stars League champions, Razvan Lucescu’s side were let down by poor finishing, with only one shot on target and a goal overturned by VAR.

Al Saad made the stronger start but it was Esteghlal who struck the opening blow in the ninth minute when a wayward pass by Claudinho gifted the ball to Asani, who rounded defender Boualem Khoukhi and lashed the ball beyond Meshaal Barsham.

The 2011 champions gradually regained their composure, with Roberto Firmino connecting to Hashim Ali’s cross and looping his header over the bar in the 19th minute. The Brazilian then set up Claudinho 10 minutes later but the striker fired just wide of the right post after weaving past the defence.

The ever-threatening Firmino’s shot from the edge of the area in the 35th minute forced keeper Habib Abbasi into a diving save as Al Saad pushed forward in search of the equaliser only to be frustrated at the last.

A counterattack by the nine-time IR Iran champions in the 42nd minute had Barsham twisting in mid-air to deny a powerful strike by Amir Mohammad Razzaghinia from the edge of the box before Firmino closed the action in the first half by heading wide of the left post.

Saharkhizan gave Esteghlal the perfect start to the second half when he latched on to a through ball from Asani two minutes in, evaded a tackle from Paulo Otavio and drilled the ball through Barsham’s legs into the left corner.

Al Saad thought they had reduced the scoreline in the 57th minute when Firmino struck from point-blank range but the goal was ruled out after a VAR review for a handball by Yusuf Abdurisag.

Gholizadeh put the match beyond Al Saad’s reach five minutes into stoppage time when he picked up Mohammadhossein Eslami’s cross, snuck in between two defenders and booted the ball past Barsham.