Qatar’s top guns Al Duhail and Al Sadd will begin their quest for continental glory when they take on Iran’s Persepolis and Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr respectively in their opening group matches of this year’s Asian Champions League.
Al Duhail are playing at the Abdulla bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha at 6.15pm, while Al Sadd have made the trip to Riyadh hoping to get their campaign underway on a winning note on a day when Qatar will be celebrating its National Sport Day with great fervour and enthusiasm.
“The Asian Champions League is a big competition with lots of strong teams but we are ready for the challenge,” declared Al Duhail’s new coach Walid Regragui at his press conference ahead of the Group C match.
Qatar’s chances of fielding four teams in the lucrative competition were dashed a few weeks ago when Al Rayyan and Al Sailiya failed to win their playoff games against Iranian clubs Esteghlal and Shahr Khodro respectively.
Regragui feels that in itself shows how strong the teams that qualified for the tournament are. Their rivals Persepolis, after all, were the runners-up in 2018.
“The task is not easy as we face a strong opposition right at the start of the tournament, but as I said we are ready for the match in all respects.
“The morale of our players is very high despite the fact that we suffered our first loss (against Al Rayyan) in the QNB Stars League recently. We will approach this tournament match by match,” added the Moroccan.
Regragui, who replaced Portuguese Rui Costa, added he loved challenges.
“It’s always a challenge to take charge of a team in the middle of a season, but I am lucky that I’ve got such a great bunch of players at Duhail. There are a number of outstanding players in the team who make my job a little easy.”
Al Duhail will definitely be looking to make a strong statement as both Regragui and Croatian forward Mario Manduzukic look to make their maiden appearance in the continental event.
Along with Manduzukic, foreign signings Mehdi Benatia, Han Kwang-Song, along with Qatari stars Almoez Ali, Ali Afif, Sultan al-Breik, Assim Madibo and Karim Boudiaf will be looking to make the opening game a memorable one for their new coach. 
However, they will miss the services of Yousef Msakni, Paulo Edmilson and Ismail Mohamed.
Meanwhile, Al Duhail’s star player Almoez Ali said Al Duhail are eager to make a winning start and send out a message to other teams in Asia.
“We know the strengths and weaknesses of our opposition, and we are keen to prove we are up to the challenge. We are motivated and want to make most of the home conditions in front of our fans,” said Almoez, who was the top-scorer when Qatar won the Asian Cup last year in the UAE. 
Apart from Persepolis, Al Duhail’s rivals in Group C are Al Taawon of Saudi Arabia and Sharjah of the UAE, and Almoez added that his team are capable of qualifying for the knockout phase.
“For sure we are confident of qualifying for the next phase. We have a great set-up but we need to play to the best of our potential.” 
Meanwhile, Al Sadd, coached by Xavi Hernandez, will take on Al Nassr at 6:15pm Doha time at the Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium in Riyadh.
Al Sadd, who had defeated Al Nassr in the quarter-finals last year before bowing in the semi-finals to eventual champions Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia, are brimming with confidence, following an excellent display of quality football which earned them the 2020 Qatar Cup. 
The Wolves defeated Al Duhail 4-0 in the final following a 4-1 thrashing of Al Rayyan in the semi-final.
Al Sadd’s latest win came against Al Kharaitiyat in the Amir Cup pre-quarter-finals last Thursday.
Although they are ranked third in the QNB Stars League standings, Al Sadd’s recent wins have shown that the team, one of the best in Asia, is in good form ahead of the important away clash.
In today’s match, Al Sadd will miss two key players, defender Salem al-Hajri due to an injury and Abdelkarim Hassan (suspension).
Al Sadd recently added attacking midfielder Marco Fabian to their fold. However, the London Olympics gold-winning Mexican team member is ineligible to play in the ACL as he was not on the initial list of players registered with the Asian body.
But South Korean star and former QFA Player of the Year Nam Tae-hee, internationals Jung Woo-Young, Baghdad Bounedjah, former Atletico Madrid star Gabi Fernandez, Asian Player of the Year Akram Afif and Hassan al-Haydos make a strong line-up at Xavi’s team. 
The team will also have the services of Pedro Miguel, Ali Asad, Boualem Khoukhi and star goalkeeper Saad al-Sheeb.
The finalists of this year’s ACL are guaranteed a spot in the 2021 FIFA Club World Cup in China while the winners get to play in the 2020 FIFA Club World Cup in Qatar.


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