Four top Qatari football clubs – Al Sadd, Al Duhail, Al Rayyan and Al Gharafa are taking part in the AFC Champions League – Asia’s premier event that fea-tures best clubs of the continent.
The event got underway on Thursday in Saudi Arabia, with the Qatari sides experiencing mixed for-tunes in their respective opening group matches. Al Rayyan, who are under coach Nicolas Cordova, enjoyed the best start as they defeated Tajikistan’s FC Istiklol 3-2 in their Group A opener.
The Lions will also face Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal SFC and UAE’s Sharjah FC in the group, hoping to advance to the next stage.The 2011 edition winners Al Sadd, who are spear-heading Qatar’s title hopes, also got off to a prom-ising start as they held Uzbekistan’s FC Nasaf to a 1-1 draw in their Group E tie. The reigning QNB Stars League champions, coached by Javi Gracia, held their nerves to seal a point despite losing Abdelkarim Hassan and Pedro Miguel through red cards during the match.
The Wolves will also face Al Faisaly FC (Saudi Arabia) and Al Wehdat SC (Jordan) later in the group stage of the event. Al Gharafa also earned a point in their first match when they played out a goalless draw against Iranian side Foolad Khouzestan at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium in Jeddah. Andrea Stramaccioni-coached side will also face Turkmenistan’s Ahal and UAE’s Shabab Al Ahli in Group C.
Meanwhile, reigning Amir Cup champions Al Duhail, who are under new coach Hernan Crespo, endured a shaky start as they went down fighting against Saudi Arabia’s Al Taawoun in their first Group D match. The Red Knights played well but mistakes cost them, with Crespo hoping for a turnaround in remaining matches to enter the next stage. Al Duhail’s group also includes Uzbekistan’s Pakhtakor FC and Iran’s Sepahan FC.
The AFC Champions League, which produces top-notch matches, is also giving a good build up to Al Annabi players ahead of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. Players like Akram Afif, Almoez Ali, Hassan and Hassan Al Haydos are all taking part in the continental event by representing their respective clubs.
This experience will help them hone their skills before the football showpiece event, where Qatar will start their campaign with a Group A match against Ecuador on their debut World Cup
