Al Gharafa to meet Saudi Arabia’s Al Ahli in AFC Champions League match in Doha
For the first time since the illegal siege of Qatar began, a football team from Saudi Arabia will play in Doha today evening.
If you are free, head over to the Al Gharafa Stadium at 6pm to cheer the Qatari team on against Saudi giants Al Ahli during the first round of the AFC Champions League.
The Saudi football giants arrived in Doha yesterday by chartered flight, marking the first instance of a team from a blockading country visiting Qatar for a sporting clash ever since the Gulf crisis began in June, 2017, reported Gulf Times.
The three-time Saudi Professional League champions have finished as runners-up of the AFC Champions League twice.
Al Gharafa will be looking to record back-to-back home wins in Group A of the Asian competition while table-toppers Al Ahli will be looking to consolidate their position, reported The Peninsula.
Gharafa had recently earned a 3-0 win over Iran’s Tractorsazi Tabriz and thus recovered from their opening-day loss to the UAE’s Al Jazira.
The last meeting between the Qatari and Saudi side, in the 2013 group stage, had ended in an entertaining 2-2 draw in Doha.
Al Gharafa coach Bulent Uygun hoped his team’s crushing 6-1 win over Al Rayyan in the QNB Stars League last week will spur his team on against Al Ahli.
“This is one of the biggest competitions for us and knowing its importance, we’ll try to make the Qatari and Al Gharafa fans happy,” said Uygun.
“Our league victory over Al Rayyan last week will surely provide additional motivation for the players although this is a different competition and a different game altogether,” he said.
The Turk added that Al Gharafa have the ability to beat any team on their day.
“Al Ahli are strong opponents and one of the top teams of Saudi Arabia. It’ll be a tough game but we’re ready for a positive result.”
