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Al Rayyan rode on a Rodrigo Moreno Machado hat-trick to beat Qatar SC 4-1 in an impressive start to their QSL Cup campaign at the Saoud Bin Abdulrahman Stadium Wednesday.In the other matches of the day, Umm Salal beat Al Shamal 3-1; Al Sailiya beat Al Shahania 2-1; and Al Khor blanked Al Bidda 3-0.A former Real Madrid player, Rodrigo Moreno struck in the 23rd, 67th and 86th minutes of the match, while Gabriel Pereira scored one in the 49th minute for Al Rayyan.Qatar SC’s only goal came from Said Brahimi in the 41st minute.Rodrigo made a sprint to beat a defender and the goalkeeper for his first strike and later slammed in from the left for his second goal. Towards the end, Rodrigo scored off a Pereira pass to complete his hat-trick.Earlier, Pereira lobbed in a ball in front of the goal which hit the left post before going in, after being provided an assist by Rodrigo.For Qatar SC, Brahimi latched on to a good chance right in front of the goal by smartly flicking the ball into the net.Al Shamal lost 1-3 to Umm Salal at Stadium 974. Al Shamal's captain Mohammed Musa mistakenly turned the ball into his own net in the 20th minute for Umm Salal’s opening goal.Al Shamal were reduced to ten-man in the 63rd minute after a red card offence which Umm Salal took advantage of to increase their lead in the 69th minute through Abulrahmman Fayez Al Rashidi, assisted by Rami Suhail Ali.Al Shamal pulled one back on the stroke of regulation time through Omar Ali, but Khaled Mansour restored Umm Salal's two-goal lead in three minutes of added time to extinguish any hopes of a comeback for Al Shamal.A Youssef Snana brace saw Al Sailiya score a 2-1 win over Al Shahania at the Al Shamal Stadium. Snana scored in the 16th and 39th minutes of the opening half.Al Shahania tried to make a comeback in the second session of the match but were successful in scoring only one goal in the 64th minute through Ali Al Muhannadi.Both sides showed more intensity in the added six minutes of injury time but the scoreline remained 2-1 in Al Sailiya’s favour.Al Khor showed sensational form as they defeated Al Bidda 3-0 at the Al Khor Stadium.In an almost one-sided clash, Al Khor went two goals up in the first 15 minutes, with the first being scored by Ali Awad in the 5th minute before Mekki MohsenTombar added the second in the 12th.Despite their several attempts, they could not, however, increase their tally until the 58th minute, when their captain, Sofiane Hanni, added the third.

Al Arabi opened their 2025-2026 QSL Cup campaign with a 3-1 victory over Al Wakrah in the first round at Al Shamal Stadium Tuesday while Al Ahli and Al Duhail played out a goalless draw at the Hamad Bin Khalifa Stadium.Al Arabi found the net through U-23 player Salem Reda in the 8th minute, Pablo Sarabia in the 41st, and Marwan Sherif in the 50th minute. Al Wakrah’s lone goal came from substitute Redouane Berkane in the 81st minute.Al Ahli and Al Duhail battled hard but weren’t able to break the deadlock, eventually settling for the stalemate.In the opening half, Al Ahli were a bit more forceful and even had a few chances but were not able to convert any.The second session saw Al Duhail push harder but luck eluded them as in the 54th minute an Adil Boulbina kick went on to hit the crossbar.The match was also marked by some rough tackles with Al Ahli picking up 4 yellow cards and Al Duhail 2.Today, four matches will be played, with Al Khor facing Al Bidda SC and Al Shahania taking on Al Sailiya in simultaneous kick-offs. Al Shamal will meet Umm Salal, while Al Rayyan will face Qatar SC in the day’s later fixtures.

The Qatar Stars League continues with preparations for the 2025-26 QSL Cup aligning with modern formats used in several continental and international tournaments. This is part of a development plan that includes raising technical standards, increasing the number of matches, enhancing competition and exposure, providing young players with the opportunity to gain experience, and developing competitions for Second Division teams. To clarify all details related to the tournament, the match system, and the levels, the organization held a meeting with the participating clubs (First Division and Second Division) on Monday. The meeting was attended by representatives from the Qatar Stars League: Ahmed Salman al-Adsani, Director of Competitions; Abdullah Saleh al-Sulaiti, Director of Media and Communications; Ahmed Abdullah al-Sayed, Head of Football Operations; and representatives from several clubs and media outlets. The meeting included the following: - An explanation of the tournament system and the draw mechanism. The participating teams (20 teams) will be divided into five levels, each containing four teams. The process of determining the five levels will be based on the final standings of the teams in the First Division and Second Division Leagues for the previous season (2024-2025). A draw will be conducted to determine the matchups. According to the tournament system, during the league stage, each team will play 10 matches over 10 weeks against teams of different levels (two matches from each of the five levels). The tournament will begin on September 1, 2025. A Technical Meeting for the tournament was also held, attended by representatives of the Foundation, the participating clubs, and the Referees Department of the Qatar Football Association. The new conditions and system were reviewed, and it was emphasized that the first and second-placed teams will qualify directly for the quarter-finals. Teams ranked third through fourteenth will also advance to the next stage, with six knock-out matches played, from which six teams will advance to the quarter-finals. The organizational procedures, guidelines for match-day operations, and confirmation of the home and away kits for each team were also discussed.