East Bengal drawn with Al Hussein, Al Shorta and Al Seeb in AFC Champions League Two Group D
East Bengal FC were drawn into Group D of the AFC Champions League Two 2026-27 with Al Hussein SC (Jordan), Al Shorta SC (Iraq) and Al Seeb Club (Oman) after the draw in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Tuesday, August 18, 2026. Thirty-two teams have been split into eight groups of four for the competition.
East Bengal qualified for the group stage as champions of the Indian Super League 2025-26 and secured their place by beating Al Arabi SC of Kuwait 4-1 in the Preliminary Stage last Wednesday. This will be East Bengal’s ninth appearance in the group stage of Asia’s second-tier men’s club competition and their first since 2015, when the tournament was known as the AFC Cup.
Al Hussein enter Group D as the Jordanian Pro League 2025-26 champions. Al Shorta were the Iraq Stars League 2025-26 runners-up. Al Seeb compete in the group as the Oman Professional League 2025-26 champions.
The competition’s format places 16 teams in the West Zone and 16 in the East Zone, divided into eight groups of four. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the Round of 16. Group-stage matches are played on a double-round robin basis, with each team facing opponents home and away.
The group stage is scheduled to start on September 15 and conclude on December 9, 2026. The Round of 16 will be played between February 9 and 18, 2027. The quarter-finals are set for March 2-18, the semi-finals for April 6-14, and the Final is pencilled in for May 15, 2027.
Other groups in the draw include Group A: Al Wahda FC (UAE), PFC Nasaf (UZB), Kuwait SC (KUW), Al Khaldiya SC (BHR); Group B: Al Jazira Club (UAE), Golgohar Sirjan SC (IRN), Al Muharraq SC (BHR), FC Arkadag (TKM); Group C: Al Taawoun FC (KSA), Al Rayyan SC (QAT), Al Faisaly (JOR), Al Nahda Club (OMA). Group E features FC Seoul (KOR), Melbourne Victory FC (AUS), The Cong – Viettel FC (VIE), Persib Bandung (IDN)/Manila Digger (PHI); Group F contains Adelaide United (AUS), BG Pathum United (THA), Lion City Sailors FC (SGP), Tai Po FC (HKG); Group G lists FC Machida Zelvia (JPN), Shanghai Shenhua FC (CHN), Preah Khan Reach Svay Rieng FC (CAM), Tampines Rovers FC (SGP); Group H comprises Gangwon FC (KOR), Kuching City FC (MAS), Kitchee SC (HKG), Phnom Penh Crown FC (CAM).
East Bengal will meet each of their Group D opponents home and away in the double-round robin group stage, which begins on September 15, 2026, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the Round of 16.