A new challenge will be faced by Al-Sadd tonight in the fiery confrontation that brings it together with Al-Ahly of Saudi Arabia in the AFC Champions League for the elite, in which the leader will not give up on achieving his first victory and stopping the superiority of the Saudi clubs over our clubs.
The new Qatari-Saudi summit begins at seven in the evening at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium in Al Sadd as part of the fourth round. Al Sadd enters the confrontation in ninth place with two points from two draws and a loss, while Al Ahly, the defending champion, is in second place with 7 points from two wins and a draw.
The match will be a turning point for the leader. If he wins it and achieves his first victory, he will receive a morale, technical and digital boost, and hopes will return to him in competing to be among the top eight and competing to qualify for the round of 16. If he loses, his mission will become more complicated and become extremely difficult unless a miracle occurs in the remaining matches and rounds.
Al-Zaeem proved his readiness to confront and win over Al-Ahly after regaining much of his level and the great victory over Al-Rayyan by five in the Doha Bank Stars League, and gave his fans hope of reconciling with them and achieving their first victory in the Asian League.
There is no doubt that the task is difficult and difficult, and the competitor is one of the strongest competitors and has not lost any match so far. However, holding the match in his stadium and among his fans is an opportunity that the leader should not waste.
The Al Rayyan match proved that Al Sadd’s reliance on two spearheads is the only way to victories, and perhaps its reliance for the first time in the starting lineup on the Brazilian scorers Firmino and the Asian Mujica contributed to the return of effectiveness and strength to its attack line, so it succeeded in winning and even scoring 5 goals at once.
In addition to the two spearheads, Al-Sadd will rely primarily on the skill and talent of its captain and thinking mind, Akram Afif, who is also one of its top scorers, along with the two wingers, Giovanni and Claudinho, and behind all of them, Mohamed Camara, Guilherme, Mustafa Tariq, and the left back, Paolo Otavio.
Allegri: Our goal is to win
Al-Sadd coach Sergio Allegri confirmed that his team is not suffering from any pressure against Al-Ahly Saudi Arabia, but we have a great responsibility in this match.
Allegri said in the press conference before the match in the 2026 AFC Champions League Elite: Al-Sadd is ready to face Al-Ahly. We are not suffering from great pressure, but we have a greater responsibility in achieving our goal, which is victory. We are waiting for a very difficult match against the defending champion. We are focusing on our players and our team and are looking forward to achieving victory for the sake of our fans. We know that we did not start the tournament in the desired manner. We believe in our abilities and will give everything we have in the confrontation.
The Al-Sadd coach continued in response to a question: Qatar’s qualification for the 2026 World Cup is a good step and must be reflected in the performance of the Qatari clubs in foreign tournaments. This is the time for us to focus on Al-Sadd and tomorrow’s match. We have drawn up our plan for this match and we will focus on controlling the course of play and finding offensive solutions. We are ready, but we need our fans.