Al Ain Uprising against Yokohama Force in the Asian final
Sudan Events – Agencies
The date between Al Ain of the Emirates and its guest Yokohama Marinos of Japan is renewed in the second leg of the AFC Champions League final. Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium in the capital, Abu Dhabi, will host the match on Saturday evening.
The first leg at Yokohama International Stadium was won by Yokohama 2-1, and although Yokohama will have a slight advantage in the second leg, the groundsman gives Al Ain good news considering the final two-leg matches that it played at its home stadium, as Al Ain’s journey to winning the title in the inaugural edition in 2003, when they lost the return match 0-1 to Thailand’s Tero Sasana in Bangkok, but he won the first leg in the Emirates 2-0 to claim the title. Al Ain also lost away from home in the final matches of the 2005 and 2016 editions, as the Emirati team was runner-up in the continental championship after Al-Ittihad Saudi Arabia and Jeonbuk Hyundai of South Korean Motors, respectively, and at the Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium, the Emirati club will have hope, because it has never lost at home in the final, and tied with the other two teams. Al-Ittihad and Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, with the same score of 1-1 and repeating the victory of the first edition at home will be the key to lifting the championship cup for the second time, especially since a win by a single goal may drag the match into extra time and then penalty kicks, and a 2-0 victory will secure the title.
