Football club from country sharing border with China qualifies for UEFA Champions League

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Kairat became only the second-ever team from Kazakhstan to reach the UEFA Champions League, the first being Astana who joined the European elites 10 years ago. (AP Photo)

Once the UEFA Champions League draw takes place, there is one away game that most European fans and teams would be dreading. On Tuesday, an unheard of club from Kazakhstan called Kairat Almaty qualified for the UEFA Champions League, defeating Celtic FC on penalties with goalkeeper Temirlan Anarbekov saving two of the three missed penalties.

Both teams were unable to score a goal over 210 minutes of football but the closest opportunity came to Celtic late in the second leg when Daizen Maeda blasted his shot over the crossbar in the 85th minute. Rather tellingly, Maeda would also miss a penalty for the 1967 European Cup winners.

Celtic, coached by Brendan Rodgers, were already under pressure from the first leg, where the consensus was that their sluggish football, coupled with a poor summer transfer window made questions pop up over whether the Scottish champions could possibly not make the Champions League.

Kairat became only the second-ever team from Kazakhstan to reach the UEFA Champions League, the first being Astana who joined the European elites 10 years ago.

A match at the Central Stadium in Kairat, Almaty means that this could likely be one of the farthest a team has had to travel for a Champions League game. Incidentally, the record is held by fellow Kazakhstan Premier League club FC Astana, who in the 2015 group stages played Benfica. The Portuguese team travelled an approximate distance of 6173 kms, according to UEFA.com for their Champions League group stage tie. The Portugal to Kazakhstan flight is the longest possible distance currently that a team could take in the Champions League. Incidentally, Almaty is within arms length of India, and a flight just over three hours away from the country’s northernmost border.

What’s even more surprising about Kairat is their perceived level. According to the Opta Power Rankings, the Kazakhstan club is ranked 473rd in the world – between Luton and Wycombe.

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