Al-Duhail and Al-Sadd return to resume their journey in the AFC Champions League for the elite, as they meet tomorrow, Monday, with Al-Ahly and Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia in the round of 16, after they were postponed since last March due to the events that the region witnessed in the recent period.
These events did not cause the round of 16 to be postponed for the western region of the continent, but rather to change the system and stadium of the matches, as it was decided to hold them in a one-round system, canceling the return leg, and transferring the matches to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, which also hosts the rest of the round of 16 matches for the region, which brings together the Iranian Traktor with the Emirati Shabab Al-Ahly, and the Saudi Al-Ittihad with the Emirati Al-Wahda.
Certainly, changing the system of the round of 16 from home and away to a one-round match, and moving the matches to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, increased the difficulty of the task for Al-Duhail and Al-Sadd, and makes them need to be at their best and at their best levels.
This matter also requires the technical staff, whether in Al-Duhail or Al-Sadd, to deal in a different manner appropriate to the cancellation of the return leg, and with the matches being held at the competitors’ stadium, which are both very popular and enjoy good levels, as they outperformed our teams during the first round, and Al-Duhail’s only superiority was at the expense of Al-Ittihad.
The two matches represent a great and strong challenge for both Al Sadd and Al Duhail, and they represent a challenge for Qatari football in general, and they must be as responsible as possible.
This is Al Sadd’s second meeting with Al Hilal. They met in the first round in Riyadh this season and Al Hilal won 3-1.
It is also the second meeting for Al-Duhail with Al-Ahly, and they met for the first time in the first round in Saudi Arabia, and Al-Duhail achieved a good result in a 2-2 draw with the defending champion. This result confirms the ability of Al-Duhail and Al-Sadd to achieve victory, especially if we take into account that holding matches in a one-round system makes the task difficult, whether for the host or for the guest as well.
Good stagnant spirits
Al-Sadd is in good spirits after regaining victories in our league at the expense of Al-Sailiya and is an important step closer to winning the Shield for the third season in a row. It also performed well, unlike its previous three matches in which it did not achieve the taste of victory.
In addition to all of this, Al-Sadd are in good condition on the team and individual levels, led by the great star Akram Afif, in addition to the completion of the ranks, especially in the attack line, which bears a great responsibility for leading the team to victory, and Al-Sadd will be missing only its two stars, Guillermi and Giovanni, due to injury.
In addition to the attack line, the midfield and attack lines bear a major task that the Italian coach Roberto Mancini knows well, who must extract all his training and tactical energies to close all the roads leading to his goal, and then switch to the attack. He may have succeeded in snatching a goal that turns the scales and calculations of the match.
Difficult conditions for Al Duhail
On the contrary, Al-Duhail’s circumstances seem difficult after their loss to Al-Ahly in our league and the end of their hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals. There is no doubt that Al-Duhail paid the price for the league stopping, as they had achieved several important victories and renewed their hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals before losing to Al-Ahly.
Despite this, Al-Duhail is capable of challenging Al-Ahly, with the experience of its Algerian coach, Djamel Belmadi, and with the good elements it possesses in all lines.
The important thing that Al-Duhail needs in this match is to focus, especially on the defensive side, to avoid naive individual mistakes, which are considered the team’s main problem this season, in addition to trying to exploit even fair chances.