First up for Duhail, as they bid for a historic treble is Umm Salal, with the quarter-final tie to be held today at the Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium at 8pm.
The last two times these two sides met, Duhail thrashed Umm Salal 4-1 and 5-0 and it’s no surprise who will go into the match as overwhelming favourites. But a Cup match can always spring a surprise. If Umm Salal can grit out in regulation time and keep Duhail’s goal scorers at bay, then with no extra time to be played, anything is possible in penalty shootout.
But to get past Belmadi’s boys, who went unbeaten to clinch the league title and came back from a goal down to beat Al Sadd in the Qatar Cup final last week, Umm Salal players will have to play match of their lives.
Belmadi is just not ready to rest on his laurels and is eager to win the Amir’s Cup and AFC Champions League, where they have reached last 16 as group toppers.
“I’m happy to win these two tournaments — the QNB Stars League and the Qatar Cup — with Al Duhail. But the season isn’t over yet. We’ve the Amir’s Cup and Champions League remaining,” said Belmadi
“We’ve been working hard, preparing in earnest and doing our best. I’m happy to be coaching this set of players. The most important factor is result. I’m here to win trophies. The club is improving and the players are performing well. We’ve had a wonderful season, but we can definitely win more titles,” added the Algerian.
With the line-up consisting of South Korean playmaker Nam Tae-Hee, Qatar internationals Almoez Ali and Karim Boudiaf and Moroccan striker Youssef El Arabi, who emerged as the QNB Stars League’s top scorer with 26 goals, Belmadi can dream of lifting the Amir Cup at the Khalifa Stadium on May 19.
Duhail though will continue to miss the services of Tunisian star midfielder Youssef Msakni, who sustained a knee injury during their last league match against Al Sailiya and is ruled out for the rest of the season.
Despite a plethora of quality in his side, Belmadi was wary of Umm Salal and said the prestigious Amir Cup can bring out the best in any team.
“We have to forget what has happened so far. We were suffering from fatigue after a difficult Qatar Cup final against Al Sadd. But it’s a new tournament and we have to be on top of our game. The schedule is a bit hectic but in any case we must be ready,” he said yesterday.
“We respect Umm Salal and respect all out opponents. Our goal is to win the title and qualify for the final at the Khalifa stadium,” he added.
Meanwhile, Umm Salal, who finished an impressive fifth place in the QNB Stars League, had a bye to the third round. They outplayed Al Kharaitiyat 5-0 to advance into the quarter-finals of the Amir Cup. But against Duhail, they won’t find it that easy.
Umm Salal’s Moroccan coach Talal El Karkouri conceded it will be a very difficult game for his side and was hoping to exploit any weakness in Duhail. The Moroccan said Umm Salal will go into the game in a positive mode and fighting spirit.
“We respect Duhail, who have had a great season so far. It won’t be easy to stop them. But any team in team in the world has strengths and weaknesses. We have to exploit their weaknesses and play to our strength,” he said.
“Duhail has players who are able to pass the ball efficiently. They play with a good system both when they are in possession of the ball and also when they don’t have the ball,” added Karkouri.
Umm Salal defender Khalid al-Zekiba said: “The match will not be easy and we will fight to win. It is true that Al Duhail are a top team, but there is no team in the world that cannot be defeated.”
