Image: East Bengal FC
East Bengal FC 4 (Jay Gupta 90', Mohammed Rashid 108', David Lalhlansanga 117', Rohit Danu 120+1')
defeated
Al Arabi SC (Anayo Iwuala 75' p)
AFC Media Team
KOLKATA: East Bengal FC fought back to defeat Al Arabi SC (Kuwait) 4-1 in extra time and qualified for the AFC Champions League Two 2026-27 group stage at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata on Wednesday, August 12, 2026.
With the score tied at 1-1 after Jay Gupta's 90th-minute equaliser, the Preliminary Stage tie was settled by strikes from Mohammed Rashid, David Lalhlansanga, and Rohit Danu in extra time, which put East Bengal into the group stage draw to be conducted in Kuala Lumpur on August 18. It marked the first time in history that an Indian club defeated a Kuwaiti side in an Asian competition.
The first half was played at a frantic tempo, with both teams not planning on sitting back. Al Arabi sounded the opening warning with Zeid Qunbar dragging a shot wide from outside the box in the fifth minute.
Backed by the home crowd, East Bengal kept Sulaiman Abdulghafoor busy, with the Al Arabi custodian fielding Rashid’s powerful effort before reading Jesin Thonikkara’s attempted curler perfectly.
Al Arabi were left wondering how they did not go ahead in the 23rd minute when Kenean Maleko burst into the box, and his shot from an acute angle appeared to squirm past Prabhsukhan Gill, only for the East Bengal goalkeeper to recover in time to claw the ball away from the goal line.
There was no let-up from either side in the second half, with Anayo Iwuala producing a forceful run for the visitors in the 50th minute, leaving three markers in his wake, and Gill standing firm to block the shot.
From the resulting corner, East Bengal broke forward with pace, and it was four attackers against two Al Arabi defenders that ended with Khaled Al Marshed producing an outstanding last-ditch tackle to block Bipin Singh Thounaojam’s goal-bound effort.
The breakthrough eventually arrived in the 75th minute with Iwuala slotting home from 12 yards after Sandip Mandi had hauled Maleko down in the box.
With the clock ticking down, East Bengal pushed everything forward and were rewarded with the equaliser in the 90th minute when Jay Gupta thumped a header past Abdulghafoor from Rashid’s free-kick delivery to force extra time.
The home side were now in the ascendancy, and it was no surprise that they found the winner in the 108th minute of extra-time, Rashid smashing home a wonderful volley.
Lalhlansanga and Danu added gloss to the victory with additional goals in the 117th and 121st minutes, respectively, to confirm East Bengal’s progression into the AFC Champions League Two group stage.
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