Al Arabi, Umm Salal Eye Maiden Title
(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Fawad Hussain |
The Peninsula
Doha, Qatar: Al Arabi and Umm Salal are bracing for a tough final, hoping to be third time lucky as they target their maiden Ooredoo Cup title tomorrow.
Both Al Arabi and Umm Salal had twice entered the final of the tournament before failing in both their respective attempts with coaches of the two sides hoping to finally lift the trophy at Grand Hamad Stadium.
Al Arabi had reached the finals in 2013 and 2020 while Umm Salal, who are playing their second successive title clash, also played the final in 2011.
Coach Younes Ali, who guided Al Arabi to Amir Cup triumph last season, said his team will give its best to lift the trophy.
“Since you have reached the final, you have to win it,” Ali said at a pre-final press conference yesterday
“Umm Salal are a distinguished team and they have been playing good matches since the beginning of the season, especially in the Ooredoo Cup. They are one of the teams we thought would make it to the final. I think it is 50-50 in the final,” he added.
The Dream Team will be without injured trio of Yousef Msakni, Marco Verratti and Abdou Diallo while Younes' side will also miss Jassim Jaber and Ahmed Fathi, who were selected in Qatar's final squad for the upcoming AFC Asian Cup.
Meanwhile, Umm Salal, who reached the final after a 2-0 victory over Al Ahli in the semi-final, were brimming with confidence.
“We face Al Arabi in the final who won the Amir Cup last season and are one of the top teams that performs very well. It will make the final contest challenging, but I have great confidence in our team's ability to win the title,” Umm Salal coach Patrice Carteron said yesterday.
“We need to stay focused in the final, but play freely from the very start as we did in the semi-final. But the final will not be easy at all,” he added.
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