In their first appearance in the Ooredoo Stars League after two seasons in the second division, and in their first official appearance at their World Cup home at Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor hosts Al Gharafa tonight in the first round, with the match kicking off at 8:30. Al Khor are coming to the Stars League after their well-deserved promotion by winning the Second Division title, while Al Gharafa finished third in the league last season.
The match is expected to be difficult and strong as Al Khor seeks to make a strong comeback and make a good appearance in the first step in the 2025 League, and snatch a positive result that will push it at the beginning of the difficult journey not only to achieve the dream of staying but also to be in the safe zone and achieve a good position befitting what it has presented.
While Al Gharafa is trying to avoid early surprises and unsatisfactory results, it is true that the technical difference is in its favor at least at the beginning of the journey, but football does not recognize such things, and Al-Fahd has been seeking since the first step to be one of the strong competitors for the shield and to compensate for the failures of last season, and to regain the shield that has been absent since the 2011 season.
Al Khor is led by national coach Abdullah Mubarak, who will face a tough challenge against Portuguese Martins, coach of Al Gharafa and best coach last season.
Mubarak relies on his five professionals who have great experience in the Qatar Stars League, namely Moroccan Adel Arhili, who came from Umm Salal, Algerian Sofiane Hanni, who came from Al Gharafa and Al Ahli and played a major role in the promotion from the second division, in addition to the new-old trinity, which is Ivorian Johan Boli, the top scorer for Al Rayyan, Al Gharafa and Qatar SC, Portuguese Ruben Semedo, who came from Al Duhail and Al Markhiya, and Iraqi Ayman, who had previous professional experience with Umm Salal and Al Markhiya.
Al Gharafa is considered one of the best teams last season and was the strongest and closest competitor to Al Sadd in all the championships, but it failed in the last meters. It relies on the experience and skill of the Algerian star Yacine Brahimi, the Tunisian Ferjani Sassi, the Uruguayan Fabricio Diaz, the Senegalese Seydou Sano, in addition to the new Spaniard, the Romanian Koeman, and the Palestinian
Al-Gharafa and its coach also rely on the experienced Qatari stars who have strengthened its ranks, namely Muntari, Asim Madibo and Rabah Yahya.
Martinez: Ready for kick-off
Al Gharafa coach Pedro Martins said about the Panthers’ preparations for the new season in general and the match against Al Khor in the first week of the league in particular: We spent about five weeks of strong preparation, which is normal during this stage of the season. The focus was on the physical aspect, and most of the players are in good condition, but not all of them of course, as some of them joined us late, in addition to some problems due to injuries to some players such as Al Janhi and Muntari, but the main pillars of the team have been present since last season. On the other hand, we have young players and we can say that we have about 95 percent of the players in good condition and we are ready for the kick-off in the match against Al Khor.
He continued: For me, every match is important, and Al Khor is a good team with a coach who has great experience, and they have very good players with great experience.
Abdullah Mubarak: Morale is high
Al Khor coach Abdullah Mubarak confirmed his team’s readiness to face Al Gharafa.
He said, “It will certainly be a very strong and competitive match against a strong team that is a candidate to compete, after it presented a distinguished level last season.”
He pointed out that Al Gharafa is a strong team, and said: We saw their level in the previous season and their competition in the league, but we prepared well tactically and physically, and we are ready for the kick-off and the team is fully prepared.
Abdullah Mubarak concluded his statements by saying: I assure the fans of Al Khor and Al Thakira that their team will be in a good place in the league standings, and we hope to support them on the field. We are fully prepared physically, mentally and technically, and our morale is high and the players want to prove that on the field against Al Gharafa.