On the evening of 28/8, Kairat players gathered to watch the live broadcast of the Champions League group stage draw. When they discovered they would face Real Madrid, the 15-time champions and the most decorated team in the tournament's history, many players jumped up and cheered with excitement, while some appeared stunned by the news.

Kairat posted a video of the players' reactions on social media. Many fans left positive and encouraging comments, while others warned that Kairat could become easy targets in the Champions League.

Kairat achieved a remarkable feat by qualifying for the Champions League group stage for the first time. The Kazakhstan champions defeated Olimpija Ljubljana (Slovenia) 3-1 on aggregate in the first qualifying round, KuPS (Finland) 3-2 in the second qualifying round, Slovan Bratislava 4-3 on penalties in the third qualifying round, and Celtic (Scotland) 3-2 on penalties in the play-off round.

Kairat is based in Almaty, a city near the border with China. The distance from Almaty to Hanoi is 3,622 km as the crow flies, just over half the 6,400 km distance to Madrid.

Kairat players celebrate after defeating Celtic 3-2 on penalties in the play-off round on 26/8. Photo: Reuters

Kairat players celebrate after defeating Celtic 3-2 on penalties in the play-off round on 26/8. Photo: Reuters

In addition to Real Madrid, Kairat will also face Inter Milan, Club Brugge, Arsenal, Olympiacos, Sporting CP, Pafos, and Copenhagen. They will travel 6,900 km to Lisbon to play Sporting CP, the longest journey in Champions League history. Avoiding current global conflict zones, the flight could reach nearly 9,000 km with 14 hours in the air.

Kairat has twice participated in the Asian Cup Winners' Cup. Since Kazakhstan joined UEFA in 2002, they have competed in European cups 13 times. Their best previous result was reaching the group stage of the 2021-2022 Conference League.

Thanh Quy