East Bengal beat the odds to qualify for the group stage of the Asian Football Federation (AFC) Champions League Two (ACL 2) after winning their preliminary stage encounter of the West Region against Kuwaiti Al-Arabi on Wednesday (August 12) at the iconic Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata by a 4-1 margin. The Champions of India came into the game facing a severe injury crisis and had only two overseas players available.

It looked like the Kolkata-based side was heading for the exit after the visitors took a 1-0 lead in the 76th minute with a goal from Iquala from the penalty spot. However, the hosts managed to stay alive and take the game to extra time with a last-minute goal (90th minute) from Jay Gupta with a fine header.

In extra time, the Indian side dominated proceedings and scored three goals in the second half, with Rashid giving them the lead in the 108th minute. Later, David Lalhlansanga scored in the 117th minute, and Danu found the back of the net in the 120th minute.

They will know their opponents in the group stage when the draw takes place at the AFC Headquarters in Kuala Lumpur on August 18th. The 2025-26 ISL winners will be in Pot 4.

For those unversed, AFC CL 2 is Asia’s second-tier competition (the UEFA Europa League equivalent) behind the AFC Champions League and was formerly known as the AFC Cup.

However, it was not all good news for Indian football on Wednesday as FC Goa lost their chance of making it to the group stage of the competition after losing to Turkmenistan club FK Arkadag by a 3-0 margin at the Arkadag Stadium. The Goa-based side had qualified on the basis of winning the AFC Super League last season.

As a result, they will play in the AFC Challenge League, which is the third-tier competition of the Asian continent. They will enter the tournament in the group stage and be in Pot 1 in the group.