A team not far from Xinjiang, China, entered the Champions League. Let’s go to watch the Champions League on site!

In the early morning of August 27, the second leg of the Champions League playoffs continued. Helati from Kazakhstan and the Soviet Super League giants Celtics exchanged white papers. After a penalty shootout, they eliminated their opponents and advanced to the Champions League main match. As a team that is geographically in Asia, it is not easy for Helati to advance to the Champions League. In the new season, they will fight against many European giants and continue to write a new history of Kazakh football. The road to promotion, the road to promotion to the Champions League is not easy, and their journey has begun in early July. Before playing against the Celtics, Helati participated in three consecutive qualifying rounds, eliminating Slovenian team Ljubljana Olympia with a total score of 3-1 in the first round, and turning the tables against the wind when he lost 0-2 in the first round, and defeated Finnish team Gubis 3-0 in the second round. In the second leg of the third round of the qualifying match held on August 13, Helati eliminated the Slovak team Bratislava through a penalty shootout, thus gaining a play-off spot.

in two rounds of matches with the Celtics, Helati played against his opponents at home and away games. In the penalty shootout, Helati made 3 goals with 4 shots, while Celtics only made 2 goals with 5 shots. Japanese international Maeda Daran missed the Celtics' last shot and witnessed Helati advance to the Champions League.

Helati goalkeeper Analbekov performed well throughout the game, not only completing 5 saves, but also sent 6 long passes, and also performed well in the penalty shootout. With its wonderful performance in the playoffs, Helati became the only team this season to reach the main tournament from the first round of the Champions League qualifiers. This will also be their first trip to the main tournament of the Champions League. For Kazakhstan, which has a low presence in European football, it will be enough to be recorded in history.

has a long history and reshape the glory. Helati's home court is located in Almaty, Kazakhstan. This team was established in 1954 and has been used since its rename to Helati in 1956. In the last century, Helati was the only Kazakh club to participate in the top Soviet league. He played in the top Soviet league for 24 seasons and also won the Soviet League One (second level) championship twice. Therefore, Helati has gained unanimous recognition in Kazakhstan and is called the "national team" by fans.

After Kazakhstan's independence, Helati became the country's strongest club, and they were also the main team in the early stages of the formation of the Kazakh national team. However, due to changes in the external economic environment and internal disputes, Helati experienced divisions and reorganizations, and once again encountered an economic crisis in 2007 and was demoted due to bankruptcy in 2009. Fortunately, the team quickly returned to the top league and gradually returned to its peak in recent years.

Last season, Helati beat Astana with a 1-point advantage, won the Kazakhstan Super League championship, and thus won the UEFA Champions League qualifiers. Surprisingly, the team advanced all the way in the Champions League qualifiers and finally won a place in the Champions League main competition historic.

The Champions League trip is about to start

This season, Helati temporarily ranked third in the Kazakhstan Super League standings with 13 wins, 4 draws and 3 losses, but it is only 1 point away from the top, so there is still a possibility of winning the championship. 17-year-old striker Zapatev is the most worthy star of the team. Although he also participated in the Kazakhstan League One with Helati Team last season, this season, he scored 8 goals and gave 2 assists in 17 Kazakhstan Super League games, and his performance was very eye-catching.

Excellent performance and great potential have enabled Sapatev to be booked in advance by Chelsea. He will land at Stamford Bridge in August 2026 for 2.4 million euros to start the British dream-chasing journey. After qualifying with the team for the Champions League, Zapatev will also get the opportunity to play against the strong team and more exposure. Chelsea can use this to further investigate it, and the players' own skills are also expected to be improved.

However, except for Sapatev, the players in the Helati team are not very well-known. Most of the team's foreign players have no experience in the five major leagues. The 37-year-old striker Paul has played in the Korean K League for 4 years and has been playing for Helati since 2021. Portuguese scorer Jorginho joined the Luxembourg team Diver on the same day, contributing 2 goals and 2 assists in the Champions League qualifiers. Another Portuguese player on the

defense line, Mata, comes from the Polish League. He has never even played in the Portuguese Super League. Before going to Poland, he represented Porto B in the Portuguese League. Helati's captain Martinovic is one of the few players in the team with rich European experience. He has played in Krasnodar for many years and served as the main player in the UEFA Champions League qualifiers and the UEFA Champions League Cup. Although he is 38 years old, he has scored 3 goals in the league this season and is still in excellent form.

It can be foreseen that in the new season of the Champions League, it is difficult for Helati to achieve too outstanding results. In front of a group of European giants, they seem too small. However, this team from Kazakhstan is still not to be underestimated. The ability to eliminate the Celtics has demonstrated their strength. In the new season, Almaty, which is not far from China, will usher in many Champions League games, and each game is a festival for Helati fans.

In 2015, Astana became the first Kazakh team in the Champions League. At that time, they tied Galatasaray, Atletico Madrid and Benfica at home, achieving 4 draws and 2 losses. After 10 years, Helati is about to represent Kazakhstan in the Champions League. In a different competition system than before, their performance is also worth looking forward to.