East Bengal shift focus to Altyn ASYR amidst Anwar Boost in the AFC Champions League 2 Preliminary Round

East Bengal shift focus to Altyn ASYR amidst Anwar Boost in the AFC Champions League 2 Preliminary Round – After a month-long pursuit to secure Anwar Ali’s services, East Bengal now shifts its attention to the highly anticipated AFC Champions League 2 Preliminary tie against Altyn ASYR, to be played August 14, 2024, at the iconic Yuvabharati Krirangan. Win against the Turkmenistan side will give the Red and Gold brigade a spot in the Group stage of the same league.

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EAST BENGAL FC vs ALTYN ASYR: INTRODUCTION

The 2024-25 season has already started in India. Two clubs from India will represent the nation in international tournaments this season. Those two teams are none other than the two giants of Indian Football, the two richest clubs of India, Mohun Bagan SG and East Bengal FC. Mohun Bagan SG have already qualified for the ACL 2 group stage by winning the ISL shield last season. East Bengal FC on the other hand are at the preliminary stage of the competition. Though they finished 8th last season in ISL, their Kalinga Super Cup win in January 2024 gave them a spot on the Asian stage after 9 long years.

WHAT’S NEW IN THE AFC CLUB COMPETITION FORMAT?

Just like European club competitions, the AFC also made three tournaments of three tiers. The first-tier tournament is the ACL (AFC Champions League) Elite. As of now, no spots are there for any Indian team. The second-tier tournament is the ACL 2. The winners of the ISL shield get a direct entry in the ACL 2 group stage. Lastly, it’s the third-tier tournament, the AFC Challenge League. No Indian team gets a direct entry in this tournament.

HOW DID EAST BENGAL FC AND ALTYN ASYR MANAGE A SPOT IN THE ASIAN TOURNAMENT?

EAST BENGAL FC: Even though there is no direct qualification for a team finishing 8th in ISL, there was a spot in the ACL 2 Preliminary Stage for the Kalinga Super Cup winners.

ALTYN ASYR: Altyn Asyr finished 2nd in the 2023 Yokary Liga, the top division football league of Turkmenistan. The league along with the 2023 Turkmenistan Cup was won by FK Arkadag but they only have the AFC Challenge League license. So Altyn Asyr replaced them in ACL 2 qualifying play-offs.
The winners of the match will enter the ACL 2 group stage, while the losing team will enter the AFC Challenge League group stage.

EAST BENGAL FC vs ALTYN ASYR: PREVIEW

EAST BENGAL FC (INDIA): East Bengal made several big signings and those signings improved the quality of the team. Dimitrios Diamantakos and Madih Talal already got their names in score sheet with players from last season also playing well. The manager Carles Cuadrat also gave chances to a lot of youngsters who already won the hearts of the supporters. Moreover, the fans’ favorite Captain Cleiton Silva is reportedly fit and ready to play the game. Although their new signing Anwar Ali will not be playing in this game.

ALTYN ASYR (TURKMENISTAN): Altyn Asyr arrived in Kolkata some days beforehand and are doing their training sessions at the venue. Their last season went well. They finished 2nd in the league with two of their players, Wahyt Orazsahedow and Myrat Annayew, finishing as the 2nd and 3rd highest scorers with 12 and 11 goals, respectively, in 16 matches. Many of their games were high-scoring while they scored 2-3 goals on average per game.

EB FC vs ALTYN ASYR: CURRENT FORM

EAST BENGAL FC: East Bengal FC won both games this season in the Durand Cup by a margin of 3-1. Their last defeat was back on April 10, against Punjab FC in the last game of last season’s ISL.
ALTYN ASYR: Altyn Asyr have not played any match this season. Their last game was on May 25, where they defeated Merw by 5-2 in the previous game of the 2023 Yokary Liga. The last defeat of Altyn Asyr came on May 1, where they lost to the current winners of Yokary Liga and Turkmenistan Cup, FK Arkadag by a margin of 4-2.

East Bengal FC and Altyn Asyr have never faced each other yet.

EAST BENGAL FC vs ALTYN ASYR: VENUE, KICK-OFF

VENUE: Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan/Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata
KICK-OFF: 19:00 (7 PM) IST

EB FC vs ALTYN ASYR: WHERE TO WATCH?

On August 13, East Bengal FC announced that the game between East Bengal FC (IND) and Altyn Asyr (TKM) will be broadcasted on Zee 24 Ghanta’s TV and YouTube Channel in Bengali commentary.