The official account of the AFC Champions League for the elite announced the ideal lineup for the first round, which prominently featured players from Saudi clubs, specifically from Al-Hilal, Al-Ittihad, and Al-Ahli, thanks to their remarkable performances in the opening match.

The group stage of the elite AFC Champions League kicked off on September 15, with the participation of the strongest clubs in the continent, where the results varied among the three Saudi teams.

Al-Ahli, the defending champion, successfully asserted its dominance from the beginning with a strong victory over Uzbekistan's Nasaf Qarshi with a score of 4-2, confirming its readiness to defend its continental title.

On the other hand, Al-Ittihad did not have an ideal start as they suffered an away loss to the UAE's Al-Wahda with a score of 2-1, while Al-Hilal managed to achieve a difficult victory by the same score against Qatar's Al-Duhail in Riyadh.

The ideal lineup for the first round included Salem Al-Dosari and Portuguese Joao Cancelo from Al-Hilal, Dutch Steven Bergwijn from Al-Ittihad, alongside the Al-Ahli duo, Belgian Matheus Dams and English Ivan Toney.

The list also featured Algerian Yacine Brahimi, the star of Qatari Al-Gharafa, who shone by scoring a goal in the match against UAE's Al-Sharjah, which ended with the latter winning 4-3, confirming his impact despite his team's loss.