Al Duhail's Bassam Al Rawi (centre) trains with team-mates in preparation for their AFC champions League Round of 16 second leg match against Al Sadd. (Picture: Twitter/@AlSadd)
Doha: Qatari football giants Al Duhail and Al Sadd were hard at training ahead of Tuesday’s second leg of the AFC champions League (ACL) Round of 16.
The decisive clash will take place at the home of the Wolves, Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium.
Al Duhail players returned to training yesterday, following a day’s rest as the coaching staff, headed by Portuguese tactician Rui Faria worked on grooming the team in search of a positive result and qualify for the quarter-finals of the continental competition.
Al Sadd also resumed training last evening at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium pitch and are set to continue training daily until matchday, when they will seek to clinch the tie and progress into the next stage.
The first leg which took place at the new Al Janoub Stadium saw the two teams sharing spoils in a 1-1 draw, but a brilliant opening goal in the ‘away’ match by Qatari international Akram Afif has earned xavi Hernandez’ men the much needed advantage.
The Barca great who took up the coaching job in May, looked frustrated after the draw in his managerial debut.
“My only disappointment is that we didn’t win. It’s not a bad result as we scored an away goal, but we deserve more than that. What makes me happy is how the players performed on the pitch,” Xavi told Al Sadd’s website.
“It feels really good to coach this team. Our players were the best and had a great desire to win. The AFC Champions League is a tough tournament.
“Mistakes are part of the game. I don’t like to talk about refereeing. A penalty call in the last minute of the game is tough for the referee, but in my opinion, it was a penalty,” Xavi said.
