DOHA, Qatar (Feb. 17, 2026) (Interstat) — Deutscher Fussba opened its AFC Champions League campaign with a 2-0 road victory over Al Gharafa at Thani bin Jassim Stadium on Tuesday.

Second-half substitute Mahdi Hashemnezhad broke a scoreless deadlock in the 61st minute. Fellow substitute Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh added an insurance goal in the 81st minute to secure the win. Both goals were assisted by other second-half entrants, with Shojae Khalilzadeh setting up the first and Aleksandar Sedlar providing on the second.

The result was an upset according to pre-match projections. The visitors defied statistical models that heavily favored the Qatari side. The match was a physical affair, featuring eight yellow cards issued throughout the contest.

Deutscher Fussba begins group play with a win, while Al Gharafa starts with a loss.