With a dream semi-final date against Liverpool dashed, Al Sadd head coach Xavi Hernandez was yet to overcome the disappointment of missing out on a marquee clash at the FIFA Club World Cup Qatar. Sadd went down to Mexican side Monterrey 2-3 in the quarter-finals on Saturday and will now play for a fifth place play-off against African champions Esperance Sportive de Tunis at the Khalifa International Stadium today.
On the eve of the match against the Tunisian side, Xavi seemed to be still carrying the wounds from the Monterrey encounter. The Spaniard, while admitting his team would look to end their campaign on a high, said Sadd played better than Monterrey but without much luck.
“We were better than Monterrey in the last match, but we didn’t have luck on our side,” Xavi said. “We wanted to reach the semi-finals of this tournament but we couldn’t win the last match so we have to play for the fifth place. But we are still excited to finish this competition in the best way,” he said.
Despite dominating possession against Monterrey, Sadd were wasteful in front of the goal. That along with a couple of defensive errors in the first half cost them badly, despite mounting a comeback in the second half.
Xavi, however, reiterated his belief in his players and was pleased with their show in the tournament. “I am happy with the performance of my players. I am proud of them. We are at the same level with Monterrey. We were better than them in the quarter-final. I think we are competing really well, we have to adjust some things and we are not far off from other teams,” the Spain and Barcelona great said.
Xavi felt Sadd will have to work hard to beat Tunis, who were undone by substitute Bafetimbi Gomis’ stunning goal as Asian Champions League winners Al Hilal snatched a narrow 1-0 win. “They (ES Tunis) have good players like we have at Al Sadd. They are fighters and warriors, and have a very good coach. They are working very well and that is why they are here. They are the champions of Africa and we will have to work hard to beat them,” he said.
Sadd will be without goalkeeper Saad al-Sheeb, who had to be substituted in the second half after suffering a shoulder injury against Monterrey. Qatar’s under-23 goalkeeper Meshaal Barsham, who filled in for al-Sheeb, is set to start today.
On the other hand, Tunis have historically lost to Asian clubs and the African champions would want to set the record straight. The Tunisians have lost to Sadd 1-2 in the only time the two teams played against each other at the 2011 edition of the tournament, while Saturday’s loss to Hilal was another hard pill to swallow for them.
“African teams are not winning against the Arab clubs for a long time. The reason may be they each have five to six professional players in the side, and then they have good infrastructure. But, we are looking to break this record against Al Sadd (today),” ES Tunis assistant coach Majdi Traore said.
“Al Sadd are a very strong side but we will play for victory. We played this match last time and we won,” he said.  “We played a good last match technically and only lost after a late goal. The players are in good state mentally and are determined to win this match to win fifth place,” said Traore. 
ES Tunis goalkeeper Rami Jridi did not see much of a difference between Tunis and Sadd. “Al Sadd are a tough side and it will be a difficult match. Al Sadd have a good history but we are also the African champions,” he said.