tag

Al Sadd's Akram Afif, Al Rayyan’s Mahmoud Abunada and Al Rayyan's Roger Guedes with their trophies at the QFA Awards ceremony held at Raffles Hotel Doha Monday. Afif won the Best Player award for the sixth time. Abunada won the Best Goalkeeper award while Guedes clinched the Mansour Muftah Award for being the top scorer (21 goals) in the 2025-26 season. 

Al Rayyan booked their place in the final of the Gulf Champions League for Clubs after defeating Kuwait’s Al Qadsia 2-0 at Ahmed bin Ali Stadium in the semi-final Sunday. Goals from Roger Guedes in the 17th minute and Aleksandar Mitrovic in the 50th sealed a deserved victory as Al Rayyan produced a controlled and confident performance to advance to the title decider. Al Rayyan asserted their dominance early through high pressing and sustained attacking pressure, opening the scoring when Abdulaziz Hatem delivered a precise pass to Guedes, who drove into the penalty area before unleashing a powerful shot into the net. The home side continued to threaten and created several chances, but the first half ended with Al Rayyan holding a narrow one-goal advantage. After the break, Al Rayyan maintained their momentum and doubled their lead from a corner taken by Khalid Ali. The ball rebounded off the goalkeeper and Mitrovic reacted quickest to finish from close range in the 50th minute. Al Rayyan then managed the game effectively, preserving their lead for the remainder of the match to secure progression to the final. They will now face Saudi Arabia’s Al Shabab, who advanced to the final after defeating Iraq’s Zakho SC 4-3 on penalties following a 1-1 draw in regular and extra time in the other semi-final at Khalifa International Stadium. 

Al Rayyan made a perfect start to their Gulf Club Champions League campaign with a resounding 5-0 victory over Yemen’s Tadamon Hadramaut in their opening match at Ahmed bin Ali Stadium Wednesday.Brazilian forward Roger Guedes set the tone with a brace in the first half, scoring in the 17th and 28th minutes. The third goal came early in the second half when Yemeni defender Ayoub Tlili turned a cross into his own net (49th minute). Rodrigo Moreno (68th minute) and Aleksandar Mitrovic (90+6th minute) added further strikes to complete the rout.The home side dominated from the outset, pressing high and creating chances with sustained attacking pressure. Guedes broke the deadlock after a corner slipped past the defence, before doubling his tally with a thunderous strike from outside the box.After the restart, Tlili’s own goal widened the gap, and Moreno converted from a Mitrovic cross to make it four. Mitrovic then capped the night in stoppage time with a powerful header off a Wesley delivery.The emphatic win secured Al Rayyan’s first three points and a direct passage to the semi-finals of the competition. Al Rayyan midfielder Jassim Jaber hailed the team’s performance, calling the victory an “important motivation” for the squad moving forward.“We performed well and pressed from the start with the goal of winning, and that’s what we achieved,” Jaber said. “I thank the players for their great effort. The team has proven it has strong starters and substitutes who can maintain a high level.”