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.



South Korea Coach Takes Swipe at Bayern Munich Over Kim Injury

Leverkusen's Patrik Schick (L) in action against Kim Min-jae (R) of Bayern during the UEFA Champions League Round of 16, 2nd leg soccer match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and FC Bayern Munich, in Leverkusen, Germany, 11 March 2025.  EPA/FRIEDEMANN VOGEL
Leverkusen's Patrik Schick (L) in action against Kim Min-jae (R) of Bayern during the UEFA Champions League Round of 16, 2nd leg soccer match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and FC Bayern Munich, in Leverkusen, Germany, 11 March 2025. EPA/FRIEDEMANN VOGEL
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South Korea Coach Takes Swipe at Bayern Munich Over Kim Injury

Leverkusen's Patrik Schick (L) in action against Kim Min-jae (R) of Bayern during the UEFA Champions League Round of 16, 2nd leg soccer match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and FC Bayern Munich, in Leverkusen, Germany, 11 March 2025.  EPA/FRIEDEMANN VOGEL
Leverkusen's Patrik Schick (L) in action against Kim Min-jae (R) of Bayern during the UEFA Champions League Round of 16, 2nd leg soccer match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and FC Bayern Munich, in Leverkusen, Germany, 11 March 2025. EPA/FRIEDEMANN VOGEL

South Korea's coach on Monday hit out at Bayern Munich over their handling of Kim Min-jae after the defensive stalwart was ruled out of crunch World Cup qualifiers with an Achilles tendon injury.

The 28-year-old center-back missed Bayern's 1-1 draw at Union Berlin on Saturday and is also out of South Korea's 2026 qualifiers against Oman and Jordan, AFP reported.

Bayern coach Vincent Kompany said last week that Kim will be out for "several weeks".

Speaking ahead of the home game against Oman on Thursday, South Korea coach Hong Myung-bo said that "Munich failed to properly protect him in terms of injury prevention".

"Kim Min-jae is an extremely important player not only for his club Bayern Munich but also for our national team," Hong told reporters according to Yonhap news agency.

"Just because a match is important doesn't mean it's right to have Kim on the pitch," he added.

Hong said there had been "continuous signs" since last year that Kim was struggling with injury.

"We were fully aware of that," he said.

Victories against Oman and again at home to Jordan on Tuesday next week will send South Korea to the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Kim is an ever-present for his country with 69 caps.

He moved to Bayern from then Italian champions Napoli in the summer of 2023 and has gone on to make 73 appearances for the German giants in all competitions.