Officials of Al Gharafa and Al Duhail display the team jerseys after the Qatar Cup technical meeting yesterday.
Doha: Al Duhail will look to start from where they left off, while Al Gharafa seek to build on their recent good form when they face off in the second semi-final of Qatar Cup April 22 at the Al Sadd Stadium.
The semi-finals will pit the QNB Stars League’s first against fourth-placed team and second against third-placed side. In case of tie after regular time, matches will be decided in tie-breaker without extra time.
Al Duhail entered the Qatar Cup as the 2017-18 season QNB Stars League champions. It was their sixth league title, second in a row and first after their formation following the merger of Lekhwiya with El Jaish.
They had clinched the title with an unassailable lead over nearest challengers Al Sadd with two rounds of matches remaining.
In the process, The Red Knights, who finished on 60 points from 19 wins and three draws, remained as the only unbeaten side.
Al Duhail had more to cheer as Moroccan striker Youssef El Arabi bagged the top-scorer award with 26 goals, just one ahead of his captain and Tunisian attacking midfielder Youssef Msakni.
El Arabi was the top scorer last season also.
Djamel Belmadi’s men have a fierce frontline and scored 86 goals, the most by any team. Al Sadd came next with 68.
They also had the second-best defence as they conceded only 27 goals, two more than the number of goals against Al Sadd.
Al Duhail had stability in terms of the presence of professional players as except Chico Flores, who was replaced by Lucas Mendes, all other players — Msakny, El Arabi and Nam Tae-Hee — stayed.
Besides, they have an outstanding array of Qatari players such as Karim Boudiaf, Almoez Ali, Bassam Al Rawi, Ismail Mohamed, Luiz Martin, Mohamed Moussa and Sultan Al Berik. They have players with great potential, both junior and experienced ones, to deliver the goods.
Al Duhail suffered a setback when captain Msakny was ruled out of action for almost six months with a cruciate ligament injury he sustained during their QNB Stars League Week 22 match against Al Sailiya.
Msakny will also miss the FIFA World Cup in Russia this summer. In his absence, Boudiaf is to lead the side.
On the other hand, Al Gharafa qualified for the Qatar Cup after finishing fourth in the QNB Stars League following their 3-0 win over Qatar SC in Week 22.
