The Peninsula
Doha: Al Duhail secured a 2-1 victory over Al Ittihad Kalba in a friendly match played in Austria, as they gear up for the upcoming domestic football season.
Abdullah Al Ahraq and Khaled Muhammad scored for Al Duhail, who are currently training in Styria, Austria.
Al Duhail’s upcoming friendly fixtures include matches against Saudi Arabia’s Al Khaleej on July 28, and Saudi Damac on July 31, before returning to Doha. Al Duhail will kick off the new season when they face Qatar SC in the opening round of the Ooredoo Stars League on August 10 at the Khalifa International Stadium.
Meanwhile, Al Rayyan faced a challenging match against Dutch side VVV-Venlo at the De Koel grounds, in Venlo, Netherlands, resulting in a 1-3 defeat.
Al Rayyan are currently conducting a training camp in the Netherlands, where they will continue to sharpen their skills ahead of the new season.
Last season’s runners-up Al Rayyan will return to Doha on July 29 before taking on Umm Salal at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium on August 9, the opening day of the new Ooredoo Stars League.
Elsewhere, Al Ahli’s training continued, with the Brigadiers playing out a 1-1 draw in a tightly contested friendly against UAE’s Al Wasl, also in the Netherlands.
In another friendly, Al Khor played to a 2-2 draw against Jordan, demonstrating their strength against the strong national team. They had tied with Bucaspor 1-1 in another friendly during their training camp in Turkiye while defeating Ispartaspor 7-0 and Antalyaspor 2-1. The team will return to Doha on July 28 ahead of their opening league clash against Al Gharafa SC on August 9 at Al Bayt Stadium.
Al Sadd sign young star Bounacer
Al Sadd yesterday announced the signing of Algerian defender Abdessamed Bounacer from USM Alger on a five-year contract.
The 19-year-old Bounacer, who also represents Algerian national U-23 team, is expected to further strengthen Al Sadd squad which also saw the signing of Spanish striker Rafa Mujica on a four-season deal.
On Tuesday, the reigning Qatar Stars League champions announced that they appointed former Qatar national team coach Felix Sanchez on a two-year contract until 2026.
The team is set to begin their league campaign against Al Shamal on August 10 at Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium.