Al Duhail players celebrate after scoring against Al Duhail during their QNB Stars League match against Al Rayyan in this file photo.
Doha: Coach Djamel Belmadi’s Al Duhail will be eagerly waiting to be crowned the kings of Qatar’s football today in front of their home crowd when the final round of the QNB Stars League (QSL) kicks off at 6.15pm.
Al Duhail will be looking to sign off in style as the unbeaten champions when they take on Al Sailiya, but whatever the final result will be, it won’t make any change to the final positions of both teams.
Al Sailiya are assured of the sixth place as they have 28 points, four more than seventh-placed Al Arabi.
Al Duhail were assured of the Falcon Shield following their 5-0 victory over Al Kharaitiyat and closest challengers Al Sadd lost 1-2 to Umm Salal in Week 20.
“Our first target was to win the league which we’ve done. Our second target is to end the season without any loss,” Belmadi had said after they took an unassailable lead.
“I think it can be achieved and I feel it’s incredible to win a league without having lost a game. Throughout the season, the senior players stood up and delivered in such a positive way. We got some really good results. We didn’t lose a single match,” he added.
Tunisian attacking midfielder Youssef Msakni will return to action for Al Duhail today and he will be up against team-mate and Moroccan striker Youssef El Arabi who is vying for the honour of being the top scorer of this year’s League.
Msakni is one behind El Arabi who has scored 26 goals in the top scorers’ list.
Elsewhere, at Al Sadd Stadium, runners-up Al Sadd will also be looking to end this season’s QSL campaign on a winning note.
The Wolves booked their place in the round of 16 in the AFC Champions League following a 2-1 win over the UAE’s Al Wasl on Tuesday.
The Al Sadd outfit boasts of having the services of some of the top stars who did well on their national assignments, with six of their players, goalkeeper Saad Al Dossari, Hassan Al Haydos, Pedro Miguel, Abdulkarim Hassan, Salem Al Hajri and Akram Afif represented Qatar at the tri-nation friendly tournament which Al Annabi won in Iraq recently.
Algerian striker Baghdad Bounedjah’s good form is also a positive sign for coach Jesualdo Ferreira’s side while Boualem Khoukhi also makes his return following his recovery from an injury.
Ferreira said that Al Sadd will be firing all their guns despite the fact that today’s result won’t make any change to their position.
“We will play Al Kharaitiyat with all the strength and seriousness to win the game. Our philosophy is to play all matches with a winning mentality and this game is no exception. We always seek the first place, but were adversely affected by some reasons, including injuries to many of our players, this seaso,” Ferreira said during a pre-match press conference.
“We have a tough time coming up with our qualification for the AFC Champions League Round of 16, the Qatar Cup and Emir’s Cup. We will do our best in all of them.
“Our focus, at the moment, is the Al Kharaitiyat game and we will be happy to finish the league campaign with victory,” said the Portuguese tactician Ferreira, whose contract with Al Sadd ends at the end of the season.
Al Sadd had won 4-0 in the first phase against Al Kharaitiyat.
