Al Duhail players celebrate after scoring in this file photo.
AL AIN, UAE: Qatar football giants Al Duhail will be banking on their recent winning form to quash the threat presented by UAE’s top side Al Ain today when the two regional football powerhouses clash in the round of 16 game of the AFC Champions League.
Visitors Al Duhail - coached by Djamel Belmadi - take comfort from the fact that they have won 17 matches out of 17 since early February this year.
“The team has gained more experience this season. We have gained experience as a result of our continuous participation in the AFC Champions League matches. Participating in overseas tournaments requires a certain tactical experience to achieve the goals and we have done that,” coach Belmadi said ahead of today’s away game.
“Our preparation for this match has been underway for a few days and we fully know the importance of this confrontation,” the Algerian tactician said yesterday. “This match brings us together against a side that has many distinctive elements in their squad,” he added.
“It will be a strong clash between the two teams,” Belmadi at the press conference hall of Al Ain Sports Club. “Our preparations for this match have gone like all our previous matches and we are aiming to reach the quarter-finals of the competition and continue to go further,” Belmadi said.
“We know very well that there are significant differences between the matches of this round and the matches played in the preliminary stage. Now we are in the phase where we know we are required us to focus clearly (in the first leg),” Belmadi said.
“We have a number of young players who have been given the opportunity to gain experience and participate confidently in such games,” Belmadi said.
“They showed their abilities and succeeded in the experiment we tried,” he said.
“Al Duhail is not afraid to face any team in any tournament. Our ambition is always the top and now we will play with the same ambition in the hope that we will make things easy for us in the return match in Doha next week,” the Al Duhail coach said.
Al Duhail striker Ali Afif said yesterday: “We are in the middle of a very important journey. We wish to continue our excellence run of form and achieve positive results. We were undefeated in our group but now we face a different situation. We are looking at a positive result in the first leg. We will look at the second leg after this match.”
The 30-year-old striker added: “Thank God, the team is going well and we are well organised. We were able to win the league title without any defeat as we had only three draws. We also won the Qatar Cup (at the end of last month) and that was our second trophy (of the season). We want to continue in this fashion.”
Afif said: “Al Ain is a very big and distinguished team. They have won two tournaments this season. The situation is different and we respect every opponent. But our focus will be to play to our strengths and to move to the next round of the championship.”
