Al Sadd head coach Xavi Hernandez has praised his side after a c l i n i c a l p e r f o r m a n c e against Al Arabi in the Amir Cup semi-final, hoping for a repeat show from his ranks in the final.
Goals from Nam Tae-hee, B a g h d a d Bounedjah and Santiago Cazorla h e l p e d ‘ T h e Wolves’ in a 3-0 rout of Al Arabi in the first semi-final o n S u n d a y , keeping them on track for a record-extending 18th Amir Cup title.
Xavi expressed his delight on team’s performance in the match that saw the defending Amir Cup champions dominating ‘The Dream Team’ in both the sessions. “It was an outstanding performance from the team and winning a tough semi-final with a 3-0 margin is a great achievement,” Xavi said yesterday.
“But we have a final to play, which will be very tough no matter which team will qualify,” Xavi said referring to the second semi-final between former champions Al Duhail and Al Rayyan. Tae-hee’s goal came in the first half followed by strikes from Bounedjah and Cazorla in the second half, but Xavi said Al Sadd’s phenomenal start in the match was key to victory against Al Arabi.
“We displayed a brilliant show in the first half hour of the match, which helped us to win the tough match. After scoring the second goal we controlled the match well. I would rate this match as one of the best matches we have played, thanks to a good performance, organisation and focus,” said Xavi.
“Our goal is to win the Amir Cup title again and I am confident that my team can achieve the glory. We are the best team in Qatar in presence of top p l a y e r s , ” h e added. Al Sadd lifted the last year’s Amir Cup trophy after defeating Al Arabi 2-1 in the final at the brand new Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium – a FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 venue – in December.
Al Sadd star Abdelkarim Hassan said: “We are happy to win the semi-final after showing a good performance and now we are looking forward to a good performance in the final, which will be another tough challenge for us.”
