Saudi clubs discover AFC Champions League Elite quarter-final opponents

Saudi Arabia’s three AFC Champions League Elite contenders – Al Ahli, Al Hilal and Al Nassr – found out on Monday who they will face in the competition’s quarterfinals. Asia’s premier club tournament was revamped for this season and the final stage of the inaugural edition – comprising quarterfinals, semi-finals and final – will begin in Jeddah next month.

At a gala draw at the AFC headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, the Kingdom’s trio of cubs discovered their fate, with four-time competition winner Al Hilal set to take on South Korea’s Gwangju FC and Al Ahli facing Thai side Buriram United. Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr was handed arguably the toughest test as it will do battle with last year’s losing finalist, Yokohama F. Marinos of Japan.

Al Hilal and Al Nassr can expect from their AFC Champions League Elite opponents.

Al Hilal vs Gwangju

Tournament debutant Gwangju stands in Al Hilal’s way as it seeks a record-extending fifth continental crown. Jorge Jesus’ side will take to the King Abdullah Sport City pitch on April 25 in the first of this season’s ACL Elite quarter-finals having battled back to beat Uzbekistan’s Pakhtakor in the last-16; after losing 1-0 in the first leg, Hilal produced an exceptional second leg display to win 4-0 in Riyadh and triumph 4-1 on aggregate.

Gwangju is playing in this season’s ACL Elite courtesy of its highest ever K-League finish of third place in 2023. It was a remarkable achievement given the club had only been promoted from the second division a year before. Things have been more difficult domestically since then, with Gwangju finishing ninth in the 2024 season and currently sitting eighth, four games into the 2025 campaign.

Despite underwhelming somewhat in the South Korean top flight, Gwangju has been flying on its maiden appearance in Asian competition. In the East Asian group stage, Gwangju began with a bang as it beat 2024 AFC Champions League finalist Yokohama F. Marinos 7-3. The Korean team, coached by Lee Jung-Hyo, only lost one game – to Vissel Kobe – to finish fourth in the table. Its progress was made the more impressive as the other two South Korean representatives – Pohang Steelers and Ulsan HD – failed to make it through.

Gwangju then beat group stage conqueror Vissel Kobe over two legs in the last-16, overturning a 2-0 first-leg deficit to produce a stirring fight back. Gwangju won 3-0 after extra-time to eliminate the Japanese side, with Albania striker Jasir Asani netting twice – including the decisive third goal. Al Hilal will need to be particularly wary of the threat of Asani, who is currently the top scorer in this season’s ACL Elite with nine goals in nine games.

Al Ahli vs Buriram United

On paper, it appears that Al Ahli has been given the most favorable draw of the three Saudi representatives as it faces Thailand’s Buriram United on April 26. Only one Thai club has ever won Asia’s premier continental tournament, with Thai Farmers Bank claiming back-to-back titles in what was then known as the Asian Club Championship in 1994 and 1995. Bangkok outfit BEC Tero Sasana was the last Thai team to make the final, losing to Al Ain in 2003.

Ahli is a two-time runner up in the competition – in 1985 and 2012 – but has well-grounded aspirations of winning the inaugural ACL Elite after a series of dominant displays in the West Asian group stage was followed by a 5-1 aggregate triumph over Qatar’s Al Rayyan in the last-16. Its quarter-final opponent Buriram United finished sixth in the East Asian group stage, claiming impressive home wins over Korean giants Pohang Steelers and Ulsan HD, as well as a hard-fought away victory at Australia’s Central Coast Mariners.

In the last-16, the reigning Thai champion beat Malaysia’s Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) 1-0 over two legs in an attritional contest. After drawing 0-0 at home, Buriram looked to be on the back foot but produced a determined second-leg showing – Suphanat Mueanta’s single goal silencing the 35,000 home fans at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Johor. Suphanat is a star for club and country, averaging almost a goal every other game for the Thai national team.

Brazilian coach Osmar Loss relies on a core of Thai players but also has a pair of talented compatriots in midfielder Lucas Crispim and forward Guilherme Bissoli to call on. Ex-Fulham and Cardiff City goalkeeper Neil Etheridge is a safe pair of hands between the posts, while Real Madrid academy graduate Marcelo Djaló and Austria international midfielder Peter Žulj bring valuable experience to the defense and midfield respectively.

Yokohama F. Marinos vs Al Nassr

If Cristiano Ronaldo is to become the first player to win Champions League titles in Europe and Asia, he must help navigate his side past last year’s losing finalist Yokohama F. Marinos. The Japanese team, now led by former England national team assistant coach Steve Holland, won the first leg of last year’s final against Al Ain, before being blown away 5-1 in the second leg in the UAE.

After a shock 7-3 loss to South Korea’s Gwangju in its opening East Asian group stage game this season, Yokohama regrouped impressively to record six straight wins and finish top of the table, above fellow Japanese team Kawasaki Frontale. Holland’s side then swept through its last-16 encounter with China’s Shanghai Port – the recently crowned Chinese Double winners. Yokohama won 1-0 in the first leg before a comprehensive 4-1 victory in the second leg booked a date with Al Nassr.

Only Al Ahli and Al Hilal have scored more than Yokohama’s 26 goals in this season’s ACL Elite, with the team led by prolific Brazilian Anderson Lopes. The striker, who has been playing in Asia since 2016, has netted eight goals in the current campaign – one more than Ronaldo and the same number as Al Hilal’s Salem Al-Dawsari and Al Ahli’s Riyad Mahrez. Lopes scored at least one goal in each knockout round last year to help Yokohama reach the final and netted three times across his team’s last-16 victory over Shanghai Port.

Al Nassr, of course, has a substantial attacking arsenal of its own, with Ronaldo and record-signing Jhon Duran leading the line for Stefano Pioli’s side. Both players scored in Nassr’s 3-0 second-leg victory over Esteghlal in the last-16, as the Riyadh club overcame its Iranian opponent following a 0-0 draw in Tehran. Although Al Nassr won the Asian Cup Winners’ Cup and Asian Super Cup in 1998, it has never lifted the continent’s premier club title – something that Ronaldo and Co. are desperate to change.

Kawasaki Frontale vs Al Sadd

The last quarter-final, taking place in Jeddah on April 27, sees Qatar’s Al Sadd – the AFC Champions League winner in 1989 and 2011 – face Japanese side Kawasaki Frontale. Of this season’s competing clubs, only Al Hilal and Pakhtakor have played in more elite Asian tournaments that Al Sadd – which is making its 19th appearance in the competition.

Al Sadd, led by reigning Asian Footballer of the Year and Qatar national team captain Akram Afif, finished fourth in the West Asian group stage before advancing through its last-16 tie thanks to a 4-2 aggregate victory over UAE side Al Wasl.

Its opponent Kawasaki Frontale has never made it past the quarterfinals in Asian competition – reaching the last-eight in 2007, 2009 and 2017 before being eliminated. The Japanese team progressed to the inaugural ACL Elite finals stage thanks to a superb 4-0 second-leg victory over Shanghai Shenhua at the Kawasaki Todoroki Stadium.