The 2018-19 season QSL Cup’s Round 3 matches will be played on Friday, 16th November, and Saturday, 17th November, with three matches on each day. Fixtures are scheduled during international breaks when the QNB Stars League is halted.
The tournament is also a great platform for clubs to unearth new talents and they give opportunities to as many Under-23 players as possible. Group B matches will be played on Friday and Group A on Saturday.
The fixtures on Friday are Al Sailiya vs Al Sadd (16:00) at Al Ahli Stadium, Al Khor vs Al Ahli (18:10) at Al Ahli Stadium and Al Rayyan VS Al Shahania (18:10) at Al Khor Stadium.
On Saturday, it will be Umm Salal vs Al Duhail (16:00), at Qatar SC Stadium, Al Arabi vs Qatar SC (18:10) at Qatar SC Stadium and Al Gharafa vs Al Kharaitiyat (18:10) at Al Gharafa Stadium.
Al Duhail are leading the Group A standings with four points (one victory and a draw). Umm Salal also have four points and same goal difference (+1), but Al Duhail occupy the top spot having scored more number of goals (three as against Umm Salal’s one). Al Kharaitiyat and Al Gharafa are third and fourth with three and two points respectively.
Qatar SC also have two points, but are placed fifth having scored less number of goals compared to Al Gharafa (one against two). Al Arabi have yet to open their account.
Al Rayyan and Al Khor are the first and second-placed team respectively in Group B.
They both have six points with an all-win record, but Al Rayyan topped the table on better goal difference (+11 as against Al Khor’s (+2). Al Rayyan scored 11 goals conceding none, while Al Khor scored four and conceded two.
Similarly, Al Ahli and Al Sadd are on three points each, but the former occupy the third position with a goal difference of -1 compared to Al Sadd’s -5.
Al Sailiya and Al Shahania have not opened their account and are placed fifth and sixth respectively, the former having a goal difference of -3 as against Al Shahania’s -4.
Al Arabi brace for Qatar SC
Al Arabi are bracing for their QSL Cup third-round Group A fixture against Qatar SC on Saturday.
All players — except Abdulla Marafih (cruciate ligament injury), Ahmed Fathy (Qatar national team), Ahmed Ibrahim (Iraq national team) and Mudir Abdrabbo (Yemen national team) — attended the training session.
Tunisian coach Hatem al-Moaddeb and his men are eager to build on their 1-0 win over Al Khor in the QNB Stars League last week.
Al Arabi are last in the QSL Cup Group A standings without any point after losing both their games, to Umm Salal and Al Kharaitiyat.
Meanwhile, Al Gharafa are getting ready for their QSL Cup third-round Group A home game against Al Kharaitiyat, scheduled for Saturday.
The team’s technical staff, led by French coach Christian Gourcuff, made the players go through their paces following three days’ rest after their 2-0 victory over Qatar SC in Week 12 of the QNB Stars League.
Some players, who are on national duty, were absent from the training session.
They were Abdulaziz Hatem, Yousef Hassan, Ahmed Alaaeldin (all Qatar national team), Mohammed Ismail, Hassan Waleed, Andrea Agus, Amro Seraj, Ilyas Ahmed and Hammam al-Amin (Olympic team). Slovakian Vladimir Weiss and Iranian Mehdi Taremi also joined their teams for international duty.
Al Gharafa are fourth in Group A of QSL Cup table with two points from as many draws, against Qatar SC and Al Duhail.
Al Arabi players train ahead of their QSL Cup third round match against Qatar SC.
