Shabab Al Ahli held; Sharjah, Al Wahda elated

Shabab Al Ahli and IO-man Tractor FC battled to a 1-1 stalemate in their opening AFC Champions League Elite™ 2025/26 match at the Rashid Stadium on Tuesday.

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Tomislav Strkalj's thunderous first-half shot and Guilherme Bala's opportunistic strike after the break meant the sides had to settle for a point each.

An underwhelming opening 10 minutes came to life when Tractor's Shoja Khalilzadeh sent across from his own half to Strkalj, who came down the middle and struck a spectacular 25-yard strike past a rooted Hamad Almeqbaali in the 14th minute.

The first-time Iran Pro League champions began to exert control, with an unmarked Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh ballooning his shot from the edge of the box after being set up by Mehdi Hashemnejad in the 29th minute.

Shabab Al Ahli, who seemed to have trouble getting their attack together, had their first clear shot at goal in the 37th minute when Guilherme Bala's attempt from distance crashed against the underside of the bar.

A miscue at the other end from Strkalj inside the box after a pass by Hashemnejad in the 45th minute proved the final offensive display from both sides in the first half.