Despite Al -Gharafa’s superiority over Umm Salal in the last two confrontations that brought them together in the most expensive cups, the leopards did not forget and perhaps they will not forget that the hawks prevented them from winning the title in the 2008 final, which all expectations suggest the coffin and the heart of the Falcons of Barzan the expectations and extracted the title.
These good and beautiful memories have Umm Salal again, but at the same time, the deprivation of the 2008 title is still stuck in the minds of the leopards before the upcoming upcoming meeting that brings them together in the semi -finals of the 2025 edition in which the hawks hope to repeat the surprise and ascend to the final for the third time in their history, while dreaming of the leopards back to the final and compensation To the Asian Champions League for elite.
The upcoming meeting will start at seven in the evening at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium in Al -Duhail Club, and there is no alternative to victory, and there is no room for a tie, whether in the original or additional time, as the decisiveness will be at the end of the penalty shootout if the tie continues.
Al-Gharafa qualified after his victory over Al-Khor 2-1 in the round of 16 and the dam on the penalty shootout 5-4 after the end of the original and additional time in a 2-2 draw in the quarter-finals.
Wam Salal qualified after beating Al-Wakra 4-1 in the round of 16, and on the north 3-2 on penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw
The two teams also met in the career of the precious championship during the round of 16 season 2016 and Al-Gharafa won 5-3 on penalties, and in 2024 they met in the quarter-finals and Al-Gharafa also won.
The two teams agreed in many things, the most important of which is that their level was not stable in the league, especially Umm Salal, who suffered and almost landed without his success in passing the matching match by beating Al -Markhiya, and Al -Gharafa tried a lot to compete for the title, but also in the last rounds he moved away and satisfied with third place.
However, the two teams changed their performance in the most expensive tournaments, as a result, and the qualification of Al -Gharafa at the expense of Al -Sadd League champion and the Qatar Cup champion, and Umm Salal qualified at the expense of Al -Wakra, then the north, both of whom were in a better position in the league.
The meeting will be open and exciting on both sides, and expectations indicate that Al -Gharafa may initiate pressure and attack with the first minutes, with its high morale after defeating the defending champion Al -Sadd, and with his strong weapons led by the Spanish scorer Josello, and the presence of a strong and effective midfield in the offensive side of the presence of Yassin Brahimi, Ferjani Sassi, Fabrasio Souza, Ahmed Al -Janahi and Amr Siraj
While Umm Salal will threaten the Chamber goalkeeper quickly, his attackers, especially the scorer Mansieh and the wing, Kanji Joueli, and behind them, Osama Tnan, if he returns after the absence.
Pommel: We will play without pressure
French coach Patrice Pommel, the coach of Salal, described the confrontation for his team against Al -Gharafa as difficult. He said, “There is no doubt that our arrival in the semi -finals is a great achievement and reflects the distinguished effort that the team made in general to register a positive presence in an advanced stage of the championship that means a lot for everyone for its importance and status, and now we are on the threshold of another difficult task represented by facing Al -Gharafa, in a match that I expect to be strong and open to the desire of each of the two teams to reach the final, so we are required to make a great effort and a high combat spirit At the level that we have presented so far, we are aware of the strength of Al -Gharafa team and its distinguished players, and he managed to present itself well during its previous match against Al -Sadd.
He added, “We focused during the preparations on our strengths, and urged the players to make a double effort in a match that will not be easy at all, as the decisive factor will be from small details and the exploitation of offensive transformations in the meeting according to the tactical duties that we must follow.”
Martinez: Caution is required to cross for the final
Al -Gharafa coach Pedro Martinez confirmed that his team aspires to continue his career by achieving a positive result in front of Umm Salal and qualifying for the final of the Prince’s Cup.
He said, “We are waiting for a strong and difficult confrontation in front of a good competitor who managed to reach this stage after he performed a distinguished performance. As for the Gharafa, preparations took place with great mission and enthusiasm to win and reach the final match.”
He added: Everyone can achieve victory in the cups of cups due to equal opportunities for all teams, and everyone is looking to achieve a positive result and reach the final, and we are required to overcome errors during this confrontation that requires the highest levels of focus, especially after the great effort of the team in the last dam match.
He stressed: Our team is going through some pressure as a result of the great desire to achieve the title, with the importance of this confrontation and the need to play with great caution in front of an experienced competitor that includes many players who have the ability to make the difference.
Everyone is aware of the importance of the championship, which has a large mass follow -up locally and abroad, in an exceptional atmosphere within the team, and everyone is optimistic.
Kenji: Collective action is our weapon
Dutchman Kenji Ghuri, Umm Salal team, said: We look very passionate about winning Al Gharafa and obtaining a qualification card for the final match, especially as we are preparing for the match with great enthusiasm to achieve preference against Al -Gharafa by playing away from any pressures and seeking to appear at the level we recently presented.
He added: We are pleased to reach this advanced stage of the championship, which is an incentive for us to continue with the same combat spirit, especially since we are one step away from the big final, and the current season was full of many events for us and after changing the technical staff of the team and leaving the former coach Carteron, we passed a state of instability and after a series of negative results we succeeded in returning to a good technical level.
Gonarson: They are ready for the resolution site
Al -Gharafa player Aaron Gonarson confirmed his team’s readiness to face Umm Salal tonight in the semi -finals of the Prince’s Cup.
He said, “We have a great opportunity to achieve a positive result, especially after we play a strong match against Al Sadd in the quarter -finals, and now we seek to provide the required level to win.”
He added: Our preparations were held in positive Ajwa and we look forward to continuing our progress towards the final, which is our ambition and our next goal, and this is what we seek to achieve.
He continued, “Umm Salal is a strong team, and we have to play with all our energy and have a focus. On the personal level, I have done well to be ready to participate with the team.”
Al -Ruwaili leads the meeting
The crew of the Al -Gharafa and Umm Salal match, which will be held tonight in the semi -finals of the Prince’s Cup, at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium in Al -Duhail Club at seven in the evening, consists of Abdul Hadi Al -Ruwaili, the referee of Square and Saud Ahmed, a first assistant referee, Rashid Al -Shaib, a second assistant referee, Youssef Al -Sharshani, a fourth referee, Khaled Al -Nabit, and Muhammad Mazy, my video, and Sultan Awad, a reserve assistant referee.