Al Duhail players in action during a practice session ahead of today's QNB Stars League Round-22 match against Al Ahli.
The QNB Stars League (QSL) 2019-2020 edition champions will be decided today, with Al Duhail entering the final round as favourites to lift the Falcon Shield. For Al Rayyan - the other title contenders - they will be needing much more besides winning their last match to end the league as triumphant. Table-toppers Al Duhail - who led in the best part of the season – will take on Al Ahli at Al Janoub Stadium, knowing their one-point lead over Al Rayyan will be enough to give them the title if they defeat their eighth-placed opponents today. Al Rayyan will take on sixth placed Al Wakrah at Al Sadd Stadium, targeting for a win as well as hoping for an upset at Al Janoub Stadium. Both the matches will kick off simultaneously at 7:30 pm. Al Duhail coach Walid Regragui, who replaced Rui Faria during the second half of the season, is upbeat that his team will defeat Al Ahli and become the QSL champions. “We are ready to face Al Ahli, win the match and finish the league.
It is like a Cup final,” Walid Regragui said at a prematch press conference. “A month ago, we knew that we had five decisive matches. We would have liked to win the title early, but we were not successful. Now, we have a match to win, and we knew that Al Rayyan would be chasing us, but we will win and celebrate the title,” Regragui said. The coaches expressed satisfaction over his team’s performance to retain their top spot since QSL resumed last month after a long break due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “We did not feel pressure in previous matches, especially because our destiny is still in our hands and victory will make us win the league. If there is pressure, it will be positive. We have confidence in ourselves and we have to win this match and clinch the title,” Regragui said before adding that he is unlikely to make changes in the squad for today’s crucial match. “We will miss the services of Yousef Msakni, Assim Madibo, and Bassam Al Rawi. At the same time, Ahmed Yasser has returned to training. There will be no major changes in the squad. I think we will play with the same squad, the players must put in efforts on the field and I trust all of them,” the coach added. “The season was long and difficult. Now, the important thing for me is the recovery of injured players because we need them to prepare for the AFC Champions League and fortunately Al Duhail has many options,” said Regragui. Meanwhile, Al Rayyan coach Diego Aguirre has urged his players to focus on winning against Al Wakrah. “We are ready to give the best show against Al Wakrah to win the game.
The title is not in our hands. For me, I do not prefer waiting for the result of the other match. We have to focus on our game because it is difficult. If we cannot win, we will not have a chance to win the title and we must do our job until the last moment,” said Aguirre. “My advice to the players is to just focus and do the best on the field in order to win,” said Aguirre. “The preparations for the Al Wakrah game were very good. We do not have any excuses, we have to continue winning and achieve victory in this game. We are required to focus, maybe something good will happen. We may or may not win the title,” he added. Aguirre praised his side for taking the QSL title fight down to the wire. “The season, in general, was good because we competed for the title until the last round. It is a good thing for Al Rayyan, especially with some new players who joined at the beginning of the season,” he said. Today’s first match will be played between Al Arabi and Qatar SC at Al Janoub Stadium.
