Sepahan lost to Al Duhail of Qatar 3-2 in the 2025-26 AFC Champions League Preliminary Stage.
“It was a good game – without a doubt, a match with five goals is interesting,” said Navidkia. “We scored at the best possible time and should have used this opportunity much better.
“Unfortunately, we gave Al Duhail a lot of space in the first half and suffered serious injuries. In the second half, we tried to play more boldly to end the game in our favor but we were not successful,” he added.
Looking ahead to their AFC Champions League Two campaign, Navidkia remained upbeat.
“We will undoubtedly have more chances there and we must take advantage of them, improve ourselves in terms of quality and prove our capabilities,” Navidkia said.