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Reuters

Vissel Kobe ⁠coach Michael Skibbe is relishing the opportunity to test his team against a higher calibre of opposition when the J-League side play Roberto Mancini’s Al-Sadd in the quarter-finals of the Asian Champions League Elite on Thursday.
Kobe, winners of the Japanese title in 2023 and 2024, have never won the Asian title and take ‌on the Qatari club, which eliminated four-time champions Al-Hilal from Saudi Arabia in a penalty shoot-out on Monday.
“This will be a very strong opponent, Al Sadd, as we have seen two days before,” said Skibbe, who is in his first season as Kobe coach after four years with Sanfrecce Hiroshima.
“I think this will be a very interesting match for us.
“From eastern Asia, it is not so easy to find very competitive teams because around us there’s the Japanese league, ⁠the Korean league and sometimes the teams from China.

“But in between there’s a far distance from the western part of Asia ‌and so we are very happy, after a long journey, to be here to show what a nice match we can have tomorrow.”
Kobe and Al-Sadd are among eight teams left in Jeddah in ‌the centralised finals series of the competition, where the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final will all be played in ⁠the port city on Saudi ⁠Arabia’s Red Sea coast.
Skibbe is hopeful of fielding his strongest side, which would include former Japan international strikers Yuya ‌Osako and Yoshinori Muto, while Mancini is focused on ensuring his players recover from the rigours of their win over Al-Hilal.
Al-Sadd fought back to equalise three times during ‌regulation time ‌in the last-16 meeting on Monday before winning 4-2 on penalties to eliminate the Simone Inzaghi-coached outfit.
“We hope to recover ‌very well from the last game,” Mancini said. “It was very, very hard. We played 120 minutes. It’s not easy but we hope ⁠to recover very well. I think it will be a very good game, we’re playing a good team with good players.”

Saudi Arabian clubs had been expected to dominate the competition following the recent influx of highly paid foreign talent from Europe’s leading leagues but Al-Sadd saw off an Al-Hilal side featuring the likes of Karim Benzema and Ruben Neves.
Defending ‌champions Al-Ahli are one of ‌two Saudi clubs left in the competition and they will face Malaysia’s Johor Darul Ta’zim on Friday, when fellow Jeddah-based side Al-Ittihad take on Machida Zelvia, the second remaining Japanese team.
Shabab Al-Ahli from the United Arab Emirates will play Thailand’s Buriram United in the fourth and final quarter-final on Saturday with the semi-finals to be held on Monday and Tuesday. The final will be played on April 25.


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AFC Champions League Elite: Kobe expecting tough quarter-final against Mancini’s Al-Sadd

Agustin Soria of Al-Sadd (left) is challenged by Al-Hilal’s Saimon Bouabre during their Champions League Elite match in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Monday. Photo: Getty Images

Vissel Kobe coach Michael Skibbe during a J.League match against Nagoya Grampus on Sunday. Photo: Getty Images

Al-Sadd manager Roberto Mancini is focused on ensuring his players recover. Photo: Getty Images

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Football

Japanese side and Qatari club are among eight teams left in Jeddah in ‌the centralised finals series of the competition starting Thursday


Japanese side and Qatari club are among eight teams left in Jeddah in ‌the centralised finals series of the competition starting Thursday.


AFC Champions League

Karim Benzema

Al-Hilal Football Club

AFC Champions League Elite: Kobe expecting tough quarter-final against Mancini’s Al-Sadd

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Japanese side and Qatari club are among eight teams left in Jeddah in ‌the centralised finals series of the competition starting Thursday

Japanese side and Qatari club are among eight teams left in Jeddah in ‌the centralised finals series of the competition starting Thursday