How can East Bengal still qualify for next round of AFC Champions League Two 2026-27?

The Torchbearers lost their first home match 2-3 to Al-Shorta in the AFC Champions League Two

East Bengal FC suffered their first defeat of the 2026-27 AFC Champions League Two campaign after losing 2-3 against to Al-Shorta at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on Tuesday, 13 October, 2026.

The Red & Gold Brigade put up a valiant fight in the clash, even taking the lead twice in the first half through the heroics of young striker David Lalhlansanga. The loss to Al-Shorta can caused East Bengal to fall down to third place in their group in the 2026-27 AFC Champions League group stages after the first two game-weeks.

The Torchbearers just have one point from the two matches so far, having been able to hold Al-Hussein to a draw in their opening game of the AFC Champions League Two campaign. The loss to Al-Shorta was definitely a setback for East Bengal, who had a big chance of acquiring some important points from the clash to add to their tally in the group.

Despite not being able to win any of their first two matches of the competition so far, all is not lost for the Torchbearers at all. East Bengal await four more matches in the group stages of the 2026-27 ACL Two, with two of them being at home.

Antonio Habas needs to rally his troops and reinvigorate their spirits to get them firing on all cylinders once again. In this article, we look at how East Bengal can still be able to qualify for the knockout rounds of the 2026-27 AFC Champions League Two.

What East Bengal must do to qualify for the 2026-27 AFC Champions League Two Knockouts?

Under the current format of the group stages of the ACL Two, two teams from each group will be qualifying to progress towards the Round of 16. That means even if they are able to secure a second-place finish in Group D at the end of the group stages, the Indian Super League (ISL) heavyweights will still be able to carve a path into the knockout stages of the tournament.

After having picked up one point from their first two matches in the group stages, the maximum points that East Bengal can finish with in the group stages will be 13. That is if they are somehow able to win all four matches going forward.

As of now, their closest rival to a second place spot in the group are Al-Hussein, who were able to climb up to second place in the group after their recent win over Al-Seeb. Currently, there are only three points separating second-place Al-Hussein with East Bengal.

The Red & Gold Brigade are poised to face Al-Seeb in their next two matches in the AFC Champions League Two group stages, knowing that the teams above them are also going to face each other back-to-back in the next two matchdays as well.

For Antonio Habas, it’s pivotal for his side to look to take maximum points from Al-Seeb. They need to look to defeat the struggling Oman club both times, something that can help their cause in potentially moving up the table. If they’re able to actually win both matches against Al-Seeb, East Bengal will be able to put major pressure onto Al-Hussein as well.

If Al-Hussein end up losing both games against Al-Shorta and East Bengal win their two matches – or even pick up four points (one win, one draw) – from them, they’d be able to climb over Al-Hussein to acquire the second place.

After that, East Bengal will also be hosting the Jordan club at the Salt Lake Stadium on 24 November 2026. East Bengal must look defeat Al-Hussein their home match, something that can possibly create a major gap between the two in the race for the second match.

If East Bengal are able to win both matches against Al-Seeb and also defeat Al-Hussein, they would have a very strong chance of establishing their stronghold on the second spot in the group. Winning the next three matches would take their points tally to 10 from five matches.

What must happen to the opponents for East Bengal to qualify to the knock-outs.

If Al-Hussein end up losing both games against Al-Shorta, or even drawing or losing a game, and then suffer a loss at the Salt Lake Stadium, then they’d risk falling potentially five or more points behind East Bengal heading into the final matchday of the group stages.

If that can kind of a gap can really be created, then East Bengal would already qualify for the knockout stages of the AFC Champions League Two with a game in hand.

In another scenario, if East Bengal are able to pick up four points from the two matches against Al-Seeb and Al-Hussein win one of their two matches against Al-Shorta, then the Kolkata side would be one point behind Al-Hussein ahead of their meeting.

In such a case, East Bengal will have to defeat the Jordan club to go two points clear of them before the away clash against Al-Shorta. If this happens, then East Bengal would have to take something from their clash against Al-Shorta and hope Al-Hussein drop points in their final group game against Al-Seeb.

This would mean that East Bengal secure a second-place finish and progress in the knockout rounds of the AFC Champions League Two. For the Torchbearers, the objective would be to at least win two of their four remaining group games and try to at least take one point in their matches against Al-Shorta and Al-Hussein.

If able to do that, they should be able to hold onto the second place in the group to progress to the Round of 16.

Upcoming fixtures for East Bengal in ACL 2

Here are the upcoming fixtures for the Torchbearers in the AFC Champions League Two group stages.

• October 27: Al-Seeb Club vs. East Bengal FC – Al Seeb Stadium, Seeb (Oman)
• November 3: East Bengal FC vs. Al-Seeb Club – Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan, Kolkata
• November 24: East Bengal FC vs. Al-Hussein SC – Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan, Kolkata
• December 8: Al-Shorta SC vs. East Bengal FC – Al-Zawraa Stadium, Baghdad (Iraq)

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