East Bengal FC will begin their AFC Champions League Two 2026-27 Group D campaign against Jordanian Pro League champions Al-Hussein SC at the Amman International Stadium on Wednesday (September 16).

East Bengal enter the continental campaign with considerable momentum after an impressive run of results under head coach Antonio Lopez Habas. The Kolkata giants secured their place in the 32-team ACL Two group stage by defeating Kuwait’s Al Arabi SC 4-1 in the preliminary stage at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan last month.

Al Hussein vs East Bengal ACL 2 Team News

East Bengal will now look to carry that consistency onto the Asian stage. The fixture in Amman is particularly significant as it marks the club’s 19th participation in an AFC men’s competition, the highest number of appearances by an Indian club.

The Kolkata giants are without any foreign striker and miss out on Chris Ikonomidis, who couldn’t travel due to high fever. Mohammad Bashim Rashid will play a key role while Dani Ramirez and Diego Zivulic are set to play important part as well.

Habas acknowledged the importance of the occasion while outlining East Bengal’s ambition ahead of the Group D opener.

“We are excited to participate in the ACL Two Group Stage. It’s a unique chance to compete at the highest level in Asia, and we want to inculcate the same mindset in the players. We want to continue the winning momentum that we achieved over the past two months. We want to replicate that success in tomorrow’s game against Al-Hussein,” he said.

Al Hussein have a few decent players in their ranks. The Jordanian giants haven’t played a competitive match in a month and that can be an issue for them. There is some uncertainty around Al-Hussein’s attacking options. Mahmoud Al-Mardi is carrying an injury and is reportedly doubtful, while Colombian striker Brayan Riascos is also injured.

Al-Hussein SC Pose Tough Challenge

Al-Hussein SC come into the contest as the reigning Jordanian Pro League champions, having won the competition in each of the past three seasons. They are also the current Jordan FA Cup holders, underlining their domestic dominance.

However, their start to the 2026-27 season has been less convincing. Al-Hussein have won only one of their last five matches and will therefore be looking to use their home advantage to rediscover their form against the Indian champions.

East Bengal vs Al Hussein H2H Record

Wednesday’s encounter will be the first-ever meeting between East Bengal and Al-Hussein. The Kolkata club, however, have previous experience of facing Jordanian opposition in AFC competitions.

East Bengal previously played Al Faisaly in the 2005 AFC Cup group stage and Al Wahdat in the 2008 AFC Cup group stage. Their only victory against a Jordanian club came on April 3, 2008, when Aloke Mukherjee’s East Bengal defeated Al Wahdat 2-0 at the Prince Mohammed Stadium in Zarqa.

Alvito D’Cunha and Ikechukwu Gift Ibe scored the goals that night, with the victory making East Bengal the first Indian club to defeat a Middle Eastern opponent in an AFC competition.

Al Hussein vs East Bengal Predicted Lineups

Check out the predicted starting XI here for both teams-

East Bengal Predicted Starting XI

Prabhsukhan Gill; Hardik Bhatt, Anwar Ali, Diego Zivulic, Jay Gupta; Md Rashid, Jeakson Singh, Dani Ramirez; Bipin Singh, David Lalhlansanga, Edmund Lalrindika

Al Hussein Predicted Starting XI

Yazeed Abulaila; Ahmad Assaf, Saleem Obaid, Abdallah Nasib, Ali Hajabi; Mahmoud Shawkat, Youssef Qashi, Omar Ghanjouq, Mahmoud Theeb, Obeida Al Namarneh; Aref Al Haj