Al Sadd, Al Duhail eye continental glory as AFC Champions League continues in Doha
Qatar's representatives Al Sadd and Al Duhail will continue their quests for continental glory tomorrow as they go up against the UAE's Al Ain and Sharjah FC respectively in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League group games.
Qatar is hosting the West Asian leg of the championship, suspended in March (with only two rounds played until then), just like many other sports events across the globe due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, from September 14 to October 3.
A total of 12 teams from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Uzbekistan, Iraq, Iran and hosts Qatar are featuring in the three-week tournament.
Matches will hold across four stadiums, including three 2022 FIFA World Cup venues - Al Janoub Stadium, Education City Stadium, and the iconic Khalifa International Stadium - as well as the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium.
The UAE's Al Wahda, the 13th team, withdrew from the competition on Monday, after failing to arrive in Doha as scheduled.
While the Group D encounter between the 2011 champions and semifinalists of the previous two editions, Al Sadd and Al Ain takes place at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Al Sadd, Al Duhail, the newly crowned QSL champions, meanwhile, will battle Sharjah FC in Group C at the recently opened Education City Stadium.
For Al Sadd, tomorrow's clash presents a perfect opportunity for the coach Xavi lads to avenge the 2-0 defeat they suffered in the hands of their opponents in 2003, the only previous game between the sides in the AFC Champions League. The Emiratis went on to lift the trophy that year after beating BEC Tero Sasana of Thailand 2–1 on aggregate in the final.
Fortunes have differed for the two in the first two games of the group stages of the 2020 edition - Al Sadd are on top with four points from two games while Al Ain sit at the bottom of the group having lost both matches prior to the suspension of the competition, and with the joint-worst goal difference figure in the competition.
The edition started in a difficult manner for Al Ain with a 4-0 defeat to Sepahan FC at home. Coach Pedro Emanuel's men then slightly improved on that performance, but not enough as they lost to Saudi Arabia's Al Nassr 2-1 on Matchday Two.
Al Sadd, on the other hand, needed an own goal from Al Nassr's Abdulelah Al Amri to salvage a draw away from home on Matchday One, before going on to beat Sepahan by a 3-0 scoreline thanks to Akram Afif's chip and captain Hassan Al Haydos' brace in the second half.
"Every game in this competition is like a battle, and we have to approach each match with the determination it deserves. Though we are up against a strong team tomorrow, we are winners, and we ready to play and win again. Al Ain have an outstanding coach who has done a great job with the team, and they have some good foreign players as well, but we have all it takes mentally and physically be victorious. We are taking the matches one at a time," Al Sadd's coach Xavi said at a press conference today.
He added that the new format which involves matches played every three days is both challenging and at the same time interesting for the players and fans alike.
"For the fans, it is going to be an interesting experience watching the teams play with few days interval at a tournament of this nature while for the teams, the mental and physical preparation poses a new challenge. But I believe it is going to be an exciting competition which everyone will enjoy," the former Barcelona legend added.
The Qatari giants, parading the two recent winners of the AFC Player of the Year, Akram Afif (2019) and Abdulkarim Hassan (2018), among other stars in their ranks, will hope for a win to strengthen their position at the top of the table. Al Ain, meanwhile, will need a win to take them back into contention for qualification to the Round of 16 for the tenth time in their history.
In the other match involving Qatari clubs, tomorrow's fixture will be the first AFC Champions League game between Al Duhail and Sharjah.
Al Duhail have never lost against a UAE team in the AFC Champions League, winning five of their six encounters to date. They have scored a total of 16 goals across these games, an average of 2.6 goals/game.
Sharjah, the reigning UAE Pro League champions, meanwhile, have never before faced a Qatari team in the AFC Champions League. After keeping a clean sheet in their first two AFC Champions League games, Sharjah have subsequently failed to keep a clean sheet in their next six games in the competition, conceding a total of 18 goals in those games (avg. 3 goals/game).
The UAE team have the lowest shooting accuracy of any team so far in the 2020 AFC Champions League, hitting the target with only three of their 17 shots in the competition so far (17.7 percent). However, they have scored two goals from those three shots on target.
Al Duhail, a quarter-finalist in 2018, kicked off their current campaign with a 2-0 home win over Islamic Republic of Iran's Persepolis FC courtesy of goals from Mario Mandzukic and Edmilson. They then succumbed to a 2-0 away loss to Saudi Pro League side Al Taawoun, leaving them in second place in Group C on three points.
Sharjah, returning to the competition for the first time since 2004, lost their opening game 1-0 to Al Taawoun in their first game back in the competition since 2004. They followed it up with a 2-2 draw with Persepolis as Mohamed Khalfan's close-range tap in and Ryan Mendes' hammered effort from close range canceled out Ali Alipour's brace.
A win for Sharjah could lift them up the group standings ahead of the reverse fixture between the two sides on Friday. In contrast, a victory for the Qatari side could see them potentially top the group if Al Taawoun lose their game against Persepolis.
Meanwhile, the AFC have confirmed that all of the UAE's Al Wahda previous results will be null and void and the remaining three sides in Group A - Al Ahli, Al Shorta and Esteghal will play out the leftover group games after the team pulled out of the Champions League.
Match Fixtures
Al Ain FC (UAE) v Al Sadd SC (QAT)
Venue: Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Doha
Kick-off: Tuesday, September 15, 18:00 UTC+3
Al Duhail SC (QAT) v Sharjah (UAE)
Venue: Education City Stadium, Doha
Kick-off: September 15, 18:00 UTC+3
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