Al Arabi banking on home advantage to beat Sharjah

Al Arabi aim to gain home advantage and to ride the fans’ support when they meet Sharjah FC in the one-off clash for the inaugural Qatar-UAE Super Cup at the Al Thumama Stadium today at 7pm.
Al Arabi enter the match as champions of 51st Amir Cup and Sharjah as President’s Cup winners. Both teams are gunning to win top honours of the contest (that was announced in January).
Al Arabi have been making preparations for this match with high spirit and morale following their 4-2 victory over Al Wakrah in Week 20 of the 2023-2024 season Expo Stars League.
Al Arabi would rely on a number of their stars from among Rafinha Alcantara, Yousef Msakni, Omar al-Somah, Abdullah Marafee, Ahmed Fathi, Jassim Jaber, Jassim all-Hail and Marco Verratti.
The Dream Team’s coach Younes Ali expects a top performance from his wards against Sharjah. Speaking ahead of the marquee clash, coach Ali said, “We seek to lift the first Qatar-UAE Super Cup by winning the match tomorrow. Our fans are waiting for this match, which equals a title, and we look forward to performing and achieving a result that honours Qatari football.”
He added: “Sharjah are a very organised and strong team, and we saw that in the AFC Champions League, where they competed in the group which also had Al Sadd. Sharjah have also performed well in the UAE League and have an experienced coach in Olario Cosmin.
“We are also aware that Sharjah are a team known for snatching titles and are very organised in terms of positioning and counter-attacks, but we are definitely ready for the match. Our goal is one and clear which is to give everything we can to win this match and the title which is an opportunity to make Al Arabi fans happy since we haven’t had a great season so far.”
For his part, Al Arabi player Marco Verratti said, “Despite our not so impressive performance in the Expo Stars League, we have presented good levels and lost some matches when we were at our best.
“We will strive to provide our best in what is to come. Qatar-UAE Super Cup is a very important match for us and winning the cup will make a big difference for the team and the players,” he added.
The Sharjah team coach Cosmin Olarolu expressed his happiness at being in Doha again, considering that facing Al Arabi is an opportunity for his team to compete in the Qatar-UAE Super Cup for the first time, a tournament that would contribute to the development of Gulf football.
Olaroiu, who previously has had the experience of coaching Qatar’s Al Sadd knows a lot about Qatari football. For the clash he would rely mainly on the likes of Othman Kamara, Moussa Marega, Caio Lucas Fernandez, Firas Balarabi and Adel al-Hosani.
Addressing the media on the eve of the Qatar-UAE Super Cup match, Cosmin said, “We focus on each match separately and this match is important for our fans, and for a Cup that is being held for the first time. It is an opportunity for the players to prove their worth.
“When I was coach of Al Sadd, Al Arabi were not as strong a team as they are now. The team has developed a lot and we have seen it being crowned as the Amir Cup champions. We will therefore need to make every effort to win the contest and at one of the World Cup stadiums,” he added.
For his part, Sharjah player Shaheen Abdulrahman said, “I expect it to be a strong match. This one-off final match depends on simple details and we wish success. All matches are important, and the encounter is a one-match tournament. I hope we will achieve what is required and be crowned with the title.”