The Round of 16 match of the 53rd edition of the Amir Cup will kick off today, and continue through next Wednesday, as teams compete for spots in the quarter-finals.
The draw for this stage divided the 16 teams into two tiers. The first tier includes the top eight teams from the league, while the second tier consists of teams that ranked 9th to 12th in the league, along with four clubs that advanced from the preliminary round, which involved eight Second Division sides.
In today’s fixtures, Al Shahania take on Mesaimeer at Al Thumama Stadium, while Al Ahli face Qatar SC at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium.
Al Shahania will aim to make a strong showing in the Amir Cup. Led by Spanish coach Jose Murcia, the team will rely on key players such as Dutch striker Pelle Van Amersfoort, who netted 13 league goals. Murcia confirmed his team’s readiness to face Mesaimeer, adding that he is looking forward to continuing to achieve positive results to advance in the tournament, and that all the squad players are aware of the importance of the tournament and the difficulty of the upcoming match.
Mesaimeer, for their part, are looking to continue their solid form after defeating Al Markhiya 2-1 in the preliminary round. They also finished their Second Division campaign strongly, defeating Al Kharaitiyat 4-0 to end the season in seventh place with 12 points.
Mesaimeer coach Rashteh noted the difficulty of the match, while affirming his team’s readiness to face the challenge. Rashteh explained that his team’s ambition is to continue its journey and reach the advanced stages, noting that this requires his players to exert maximum effort and remain focused throughout the match while avoiding making mistakes, especially defensively.
In the second match, Al Ahli will seek to build on a strong domestic season, having finished fourth in the league with 35 points. Croatian coach Igor Biscan will look to extend the club’s positive momentum, counting on star players like Julian Draxler.
Ahli coach Biscan said: “We’re very happy to be part of the Amir Cup. We’re looking forward to facing Qatar SC — a strong and experienced team. We lost our last match, so we must show a different performance in this important tournament.”
He added: “The match against Qatar SC is like a final for us. We have to give everything. Ahli hasn’t reached the later stages in recent years, but we’re motivated and fully focused this time. Yes, we lost a tough Qatar Cup semi-final.
“We played well but must be sharper, avoid mistakes, and be more practical. We couldn’t make changes last season due to squad issues, but now we must defend well and not concede — that’s key in knockout matches.”
Qatar SC, who were runners-up in last season’s Amir Cup after narrowly losing the final to Al Sadd, hope to go far this year despite finishing 10th in the league with 23 points. Moroccan coach Youssef Safri will turn to standout talents like Percy Tau and Ahmed Abdel Kader.
Al Ahli’s coach Igor Biscan speaks at a press conference yesterday.
