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Asian Champions Al Hilal to Face Foolad as Al Shabab Meet Al Duhail

Al Hilal's Nigerian forward Odion Ighalo (C-R) celebrates scoring his team's first goal during the AFC Champions League round of 16 match between Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal and UAE's Shabab Al Ahli at the Al-Janoub Stadium in Al-Wakrah, south of Doha on February 20, 2023. (AFP)
Al Hilal's Nigerian forward Odion Ighalo (C-R) celebrates scoring his team's first goal during the AFC Champions League round of 16 match between Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal and UAE's Shabab Al Ahli at the Al-Janoub Stadium in Al-Wakrah, south of Doha on February 20, 2023. (AFP)
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Asian Champions Al Hilal to Face Foolad as Al Shabab Meet Al Duhail

Al Hilal's Nigerian forward Odion Ighalo (C-R) celebrates scoring his team's first goal during the AFC Champions League round of 16 match between Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal and UAE's Shabab Al Ahli at the Al-Janoub Stadium in Al-Wakrah, south of Doha on February 20, 2023. (AFP)
Al Hilal's Nigerian forward Odion Ighalo (C-R) celebrates scoring his team's first goal during the AFC Champions League round of 16 match between Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal and UAE's Shabab Al Ahli at the Al-Janoub Stadium in Al-Wakrah, south of Doha on February 20, 2023. (AFP)

Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal will continue the defense of their Asian Champions League title against Foolad from Iran on Thursday while compatriots Al Shabab take on Al Duhail from Qatar.

Riyadh-based Al Hilal, aiming to win the title for a record fifth time, were drawn to take on the team from Khuzestan in the quarterfinals after handing Shabab Al Ahli of the United Arab Emirates a 3-1 defeat in the round of 16 on Monday.

Foolad will be appearing in the last eight of the competition for the first time, having defeated another Saudi Arabian side, Al Faisaly, on Sunday.

Both quarterfinals will be played in Doha.

The draw sets up the prospect of an all-Saudi semi-final on Sunday, with the winner going on to face Japan's Urawa Red Diamonds in the final over two legs on April 29 and May 6.

Al Shabab advanced to the quarterfinals by defeating Nasaf Qarshi of Uzbekistan while Al Duhail eliminated compatriots Al Rayyan.

Urawa booked their place in the tournament's decider in August and the first leg of the final will be hosted by the winners of Sunday's semi-final, with the return played at Saitama Stadium in Japan seven days later.

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‘Worse than I Thought’: Hamilton Endures Difficult Ferrari Debut

Formula One F1 - Australian Grand Prix - Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia - March 16, 2025 Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton in action during warm up. (Reuters)
Formula One F1 - Australian Grand Prix - Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia - March 16, 2025 Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton in action during warm up. (Reuters)
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‘Worse than I Thought’: Hamilton Endures Difficult Ferrari Debut

Formula One F1 - Australian Grand Prix - Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia - March 16, 2025 Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton in action during warm up. (Reuters)
Formula One F1 - Australian Grand Prix - Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia - March 16, 2025 Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton in action during warm up. (Reuters)

Lewis Hamilton said Sunday he found his new Ferrari "really, really hard to drive" in the wet as the seven-time world champion endured a difficult start to his career at the Scuderia.

The 40-year-old is hoping for a new lease of life after his bombshell switch from Mercedes, but it has been a steep learning curve since he joined the Italian team in January.

It culminated in a disappointing 10th in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, where he was well off the pace of McLaren, Red Bull and Mercedes and behind teammate Charles Leclerc in a rain-hit race, punctuated by safety cars.

"It was very tricky and went a lot worse than I thought it would go. The car was really, really hard to drive today," he said after a race that was marred by a series of crashes in the treacherous conditions.

"For me, I'm just grateful I kept it out of the wall because that's where it wanted to go most of the time."

Hamilton was in the Ferrari not only for his first Grand Prix, but also for the first time in wet conditions.

Clearly still getting used to how his new team works, he was heard on the radio at one time telling his race engineer they had "missed a big opportunity" to capitalize strategically after he led briefly during a series of pit stops under the safety car.

A delayed switch back to intermediate rain tires dropped him back down the field, but the Briton said afterwards there had been "a lot" to take from his debut.

"Just getting acclimatized with the new power unit in the wet conditions," he said.

"The settings it requires are different, and a different way of driving and a different set-up on the steering wheel.

"I hung out as long as I could, got in the lead at one point. Just the guidance with how much more rain was coming, was missing there, so I think we missed out."