Al-Shatti and Abdul Ghafoor address the media.

KUWAIT CITY, April 8: Al-Arabi will take on Turkmenistan’s Arkadag at 7:00 pm today at Jaber Al-Mubarak Stadium in the first leg of the AFC Challenge League semi-finals.

The second semi-final match will take place tomorrow (Thursday), featuring Cambodia’s Preah Khan Reach Svay Rieng against Indonesia’s Madura United.

This will be the second meeting between Al-Arabi and Arkadag. The Green Falcons previously edged Arkadag 3-2 during the group stage, which they hosted last October. That victory helped Al-Arabi qualify as the best second-placed team before progressing past Oman’s Al-Seeb in the quarter-finals with a 1-0 win in the first leg and a 2-2 draw in the return leg.

Al-Arabi has intensified its preparations for this key fixture with a focused training camp. The team aims to secure a strong result at home ahead of the second leg next Wednesday.

The match also comes amid a dip in domestic form. Recent 1-1 draws against Al-Salmiya and Al-Fahaheel saw the Green Falcons slip to second place in the Zain Premier League standings—four points behind leaders Kuwait Club, with only four rounds left to play.

Head coach Nasser Al-Shatti underlined the importance of the continental tournament, saying, “The AFC Challenge League is one of our primary goals this season.”

Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Al-Shatti stressed the need for his players to show resilience and recover from recent league results. He voiced full confidence in his squad, especially goalkeeper Suleiman Abdul Ghafoor, stating, “His performance remains a cornerstone of the team’s strength.”

On the other side, Arkadag’s Coach, Ahmed Alaa, expressed ambitions for a strong away result, but acknowledged the quality of his opponent. “Al-Arabi is not an easy team. The semi-final is a different scenario than the group stage, and we’ve made adjustments to our squad accordingly.”

The Asian Football Confederation has assigned a South Korean refereeing crew to officiate the match. Choi Hyun-jae will serve as the head referee, assisted by Chun Jin-hee and Bang Gi-wol, while Chae Sang-hyup will act as the fourth official.

By Hassan Mosa

Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff