Footballers of “Altyn asyr” made a strong bid for a place in the quarterfinals of the AFC Challenge League 2025/26 by earning their second consecutive victory in Asia’s third-tier club tournament.

After their 1–0 victory over Kyrgyz club “Abdysh-Ata” in the first round, Yazguly Hojageldiyev’s team defeated Bhutanese club “Paro” 3–1 and, with six points, topped Group A. The battle for playoff spots is taking place in the Bhutan’s capital Thimphu, where four teams — including Oman’s “Al-Shabab” — are competing.

The match was played at the Changlimithang Stadium in front of 2,038 spectators.

“Paro”, which fields 11 foreign players from Brazil, Japan, Nigeria, Senegal, Ghana, Nepal and Martinique, recently won the Bhutan Premier League for a record sixth time. This season marks their second consecutive appearance in the AFC Challenge League group stage, having advanced through the preliminary round by defeating Afghanistan’s “Abu Muslim” 1–0.

The six-time Bhutanese champions, who had lost their opening match to Oman’s “Al-Shabab” 0–1, were determined to fight against the bronze medalists of the Turkmen national championship. With the opening whistle of referee Tam Ping Wun from Hong Kong, the home team immediately went on the offensive, creating two dangerous chances within the first five minutes at the gates of “Altyn Asyr”— though they failed to capitalize.

In the 9th minute, the visitors responded with a swift counterattack, and Yazguly Hojageldiyev’s team took a 1–0 lead thanks to a precise strike from inside the penalty area by Rakhman Myratberdiyev.

“Paro” did not take long to respond. In the 15th minute, Nigerian winger Abayomi Fakunle sent a superb cross from the right flank into the penalty area, where unmarked 23-year-old Japanese midfielder Riku Ichimura chested the ball into the net, leveling the score at 1–1.

The game then turned into an open, end-to-end battle. In the 16th minute, Selim Nurmyradov connected with a header, but his attempt went wide. Two minutes later, the hosts nearly took the lead, only for goalkeeper Dovletyar Berdiyev to deny them with a fine close-range save.

In the 25th minute, Myrat Annayev squandered a great chance when, one-on-one with the goalkeeper, he failed to score and won only a corner kick.

Then within two minutes Dovletyar Berdiyev once again demonstrated brilliant reflexes — first acrobatically tipping over a powerful shot by Riku Ichimura, then saving point-blank from Tenzin Norbu after the ensuing corner kick.

The attacking surge of “Paro” was halted once again by Rakhman Myratberdiyev. In the 37th minute, receiving a pass from deep by Abdyrakhman Annamyradov, he broke down the left flank, beat a defender with a feint inside the penalty area, and struck accurately into the bottom left corner. Completing his brace, Myratberdiyev made it 2–1 for “Altyn Asyr” — and after the match, he received the Player of the Match award.

In the second half, the intensity on the pitch increased further, forcing the referee to issue four yellow cards to players on each team.

To their credit, “Altyn Asyr” withstood the pressure and scored a third goal in the 73rd minute, when Resul Rovshenmyradov dispossessed a defender and, from nearly 40 meters, lofted the ball over 33-year-old goalkeeper Jeffrey Baltus, who stands 188 cm tall.

In the other Group A match, “Al-Shabab” of Oman came from behind to beat Kyrgyz club “Abdysh-Ata” 2–1 after trailing 0–1. Following that victory, the Omani team also reached six points but trails “Altyn Asyr” on goal difference.

In the final group-stage round, the two leaders will face each other, while the already-eliminated “Abdysh-Ata” and “Paro” will play in the other match.

It should be noted that 20 clubs are competing for the AFC Challenge League 2025/26 trophy. They are divided geographically into two zones — West and East. Matches in the five groups are played in a centralized format, with each team facing its group opponents once. All participating clubs receive US$100,000 for taking part in the group stage.

Results of the 2nd-round matches in other groups:

West Zone

Group B (matches in Kuwait):

“Bashundhara Kings” (Bangladesh) – “Al-Ansar” (Lebanon) – 0:3

“Al-Kuwait” (Kuwait) – “Al-Seeb” (Oman) – 1:1

Standings: “Al-Seeb”, “Al-Kuwait” – 4 pts each; “Al-Ansar” – 3; “Bashundhara Kings” – 0.

Group C (matches in Kyrgyzstan):

“Al-Arabi” (Kuwait) – “Regar-TadAZ” (Tajikistan) – 2:1

“Muras United” (Kyrgyzstan) – “Safa” (Lebanon) – 2:0

Standings: “Muras United”, “Al-Arabi” – 4 pts each; “Regar-TadAZ”, “Safa” – 1 each.

East Zone

Group D (matches in Cambodia):

“SP Falcons” (Mongolia) – “Manila Digger” (Philippines) – 0:2

“Ezra” (Laos) – “Preah Khan Reach Svay Rieng” (Cambodia) – 0:3

Standings: “Preah Khan Reach Svay Rieng”, “Manila Digger” – 6 pts each; “Ezra”, “SP Falcons” – 0.

Group E (matches in Indonesia):

“Phnom Penh Crown” (Cambodia) – “Shan United” (Myanmar) – 3:1

“Tainan City” (Chinese Taipei) – “Dewa United” (Indonesia) – 0:4

Standings: “Dewa United”, “Phnom Penh Crown” – 4 pts each; “Tainan City” – 3; “Shan United” – 0.

At the end of the group stage, eight teams will advance to the quarterfinals: three group winners and the best runner-up from the West Zone, and two best teams from each group in the East Zone.

Playoff matches will be played on a home-and-away basis.

Quarterfinal matches are scheduled for March 2026, semifinals for April 2026, and the final is set for May 9, 2026.