1 day Ago
Doha: Qatar’s Al Wakrah are all set to kick off their AFC Champions League Two campaign when they take on Iran’s Tractor FC at Al Janoub Stadium today. The Blue Wave are making a long-awaited return to the AFC Champions League, split into two competitions - Elite and League Two – following a revamp. They are pitted in Group A alongside India’s Mohun Bagan SG and Tajikistan’s FC Ravshan.
Al Wakrah last competed in the continental level in the 2001-2002 Asian Club Championship and narrowly missed the opportunity last year following their defeat to Navbahor of Uzbekistan in the play-off stage. Along with Tractor FC, they are pitted in Group A alongside India’s Mohun Bagan SG and Tajikistan’s FC Ravshan this time. Al Wakrah’s Spanish coach Miguel Angel is confident of putting up a good show in today’s clash to kick off at 7:00 PM.
“We want to make the team perform better, and this is the biggest challenge we face. We need to focus on achieving victories,” Angel said during a pre-match press conference in Al Wakrah yesterday. “We have the individual and collective skills that will help us reach the farthest point possible in the AFC Champions League.
I can say the team is ready to achieve the best results,” Angel said. Despite a 0-2 defeat to Al Duhail in their most recent Ooredoo Stars League match on Saturday, Al Wakrah will focus on learning from that encounter to ensure a solid performance against the Iranian side. “We know that the match will be difficult because we are up against a tough opponent, but I can say we have learned from the loss we experienced in the league.
The team’s preparations started immediately after our last league match, and I can confirm that we are ready to score a few strong goals,” Angel said. Al Wakrah midfielder, Farid Boulaya, who has earlier competed in the AFC Champions League with his former club Al Gharafa, said he is excited to return to the continental stage. “I’ve played before in the AFC Champions League when I was with Al Gharafa, and now I’m excited to embark on a new experience with Al Wakrah.
I hope that my experience will help the team,” Bouleya said. “The players will put in their maximum effort to overcome the challenge of the Iranian team tomorrow and make the fans of Al Wakrah happy. I promise to give my best effort even though I’m not yet 100% fit.
However, my enthusiasm is very high at the moment,” Bouleya added. Tractor FC, who also finished fourth in the Iranian league last season, are no strangers to the AFC Champions League, having reached the Round of 16 in 2016 and 2021. However, this will be their first appearance in the second tier of the continental competition.
Tractor FC’s Croatian coach Dragan Skocic remarked the competition presents an important opportunity. “We are ready to participate in this continental competition, which presents an important opportunity to compete and advance as far as possible in the tournament,” Skocic said. Tractor defender Shoja Khalilzadeh agreed with Skocic’s opinion but accepted it would not be an easy task.
“Our preparations have gone well, and we aim to secure victory and make our fans happy. We are aware of Al Wakrah’s capabilities, as they are one of the leading teams in Qatari football. We’ve studied their strengths and focused on key areas.
We know the match will be a very tough challenge,” the Iranian said..
