Al Duhail players in action during a training session ahead of match against Sepahan FC.
Hernan Crespo expressed his delight with the progress of his Al Duhail SC side ahead of their final Group D clash against Sepahan FC, who are fighting for one of the best three runners up spots in the AFC Champions League 2022.
Ahead of their last group match at the King Abdullah Sport City Stadium, Al Duhail are guaranteed the top spot and a round of 16 berth.
They are the only Qatari side that has achieved this feat after five rounds of games so far in this edition, in what is Crespo’s first AFC Champions League campaign in charge of the side he took over in the middle of March.
The last time the two sides met, Kenyan forward Michael Olunga left it late to snatch all three points with a fine diving header after the Qatar Stars League side had initially gone through the first half without a single shot on target and missing a large number of chances later.
“This is the final game in a difficult group stage for us, and I’m delighted to have progressed with a game to spare,” said Crespo.
“We will work incredibly hard to make sure we deserve that round of 16 spot, Sepahan will not make that final game easy for us at all. From Matchday One, we worked on eliminating the mistakes in our game whether in attack or defence, and I think this showed in the results we got from there onwards.”
Al Duhail have Edmilson largely responsible for how far they have gone; The Brazilian-born Belgian has scored six goals - half of the club’s goals so far - and has assisted a further two. As if this wasn’t enough to highlight just how important he is to Crespo’s plans, he also created 21 chances so far, five more than any other player in the competition.
Al Gharafa to square off with Ahal FC
Meanwhile, Al Gharafa will play their final Group C match against Ahal FC at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium, today.
Coach Andrea Stramaccioni will give his younger charges the opportunity to test their mettle against Ahal FC.
“We have to be confident and give our trust to these young players. I cannot promise you victory but I can promise you that the players on the pitch tomorrow will give 100%. We know that this is not a key game but we will do everything we can to close the tournament in the best way possible,” he said.
Al Gharafa needed to win or draw in their last match against Foolad Khouzestan FC to stay in the running to qualify for the Round of 16 but came out short despite their best efforts to search for an equaliser in the dying minutes.
“In the last game, we had several chances and two of the chances came from Ahmed Alganehi. He was unlucky not to score but he is a youth player from Al Gharafa and can one day be the future of Qatar. At the end of the game, he was crying but I told him to build on this for future success.
“I’ve said it before, this is not the point of arrival for the team. We have a strong combination of young, expert and international players. This is the recipe of having a competitive team that we can build on,” Stramaccioni explained.
