Asia vs Europe: AFC clubs face European test in busy 2026 pre-season

As part of their 2026 pre-season preparations, Asian football clubs tested themselves against European opposition, producing a string of eye-catching results as teams from Australia to Saudi Arabia used the post-FIFA World Cup break to gauge their progress against clubs from that continent.

Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) provided the latest example on Sunday when the Malaysian Super League champions held Chelsea to a 3-3 draw, capping preparations that also took them to Spain for matches against the likes of Rangers, Elche and Cartagena.

JDT were far from alone, with clubs across Asia using the extended pre-season window to arrange friendlies against European opposition ahead of their respective domestic and continental campaigns.

Saudi Pro League teams such as Al Nassr, Al Hilal and Al Ahli were particularly active in Europe as they prepared for another domestic campaign following several years of major investment in the competition.

Other West Asian clubs followed a similar route, with teams from the United Arab Emirates and Qatar using European training camps to secure opposition ranging from lower-division sides to clubs from the continent’s major leagues.

 

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The traffic also flowed in the opposite direction, with several European clubs once again travelling to Asia and providing AFC teams and representative selections with opportunities to test themselves against some of the biggest names in world football.

Borussia Dortmund played FC Tokyo and Cerezo Osaka in Japan, while Bayern Munich faced Jeju SK in South Korea and Manchester City took on a K League All Stars selection. Aston Villa also travelled through Southeast Asia, facing an Indonesia All Stars side and Thailand’s BG Pathum United.

Australia’s A-League, whose clubs compete within the AFC structure, also featured prominently as Western Sydney Wanderers faced Chelsea, and Sydney FC and Auckland FC took on Tottenham Hotspur.

Of course, friendly results offer no definitive measure of the gap between Asian and European football. Teams are often at different stages of preparation, managers regularly rotate their squads and fitness or tactical experimentation generally takes priority over the final score.

Nevertheless, the sheer number and variety of fixtures offered an interesting snapshot of how AFC clubs matched up against European opposition during the 2026 pre-season.

Here are some of the results of AFC clubs and representative sides against European opposition during the 2026 pre-season: