The Peninsula
Qatari football giants Al Sadd trounced Al Rayyan 6-0 to secure a place in the last eight stages of the 2019 Ooredoo Cup as they gear up for the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup.
Al Sadd’s goals were scored by Mustafa Tareq Meshaal (10, 49), Baghdad Bounedjah (33, 45), Abdul Aziz Al Ansari (39) and Hamid Ismail (71).
The win at the Saud bin Abdul Rahman Stadium yesterday also lifted Al Sadd to the third position in the group standings and knocked Umm Salal out of the competition.
Al Sadd and Al Rayyan are tied in terms of points (7) but Al Sadd is one spot ahead depending on goal difference.
Al Ahli and Al Wakrah are occupying the top two positions in Group A respectively.
Al Sadd fielded a strong team in yesterday’s final Group A match as coach Xavi Hernandez decided to go full strength to give match practice to his players ahead of the global showpiece event which kicks off on December 11.
Al Sadd will be up against Caledonia Hienghène Sport in the first match on an opening day.
Global football giants Liverpool, Flamengo, Al Hilal, Tunisia Espérance de Tunis, and Monterrey are the rest of the tea,s in the contest for the coveted title which is currently held by the English side.
Earlier, Abel Mathias and Hernan Perez struck a brace each as Al Ahli blanked Al Wakrah 6-0 at the Al-Shamal Stadium yesterday.
Abel (37, 74), Nabil El Zhar (41), Hernan (53, 88) and Ali Faiz (79) scored for Al Ahli as they ended their campaign with 12 points to top the group.
Al Wakrah finished on eight points. Al Ahli had qualified for the knockout quarter-finals following their 2-1 win over Al Shahania in the fourth round, along with Al Wakrah and Al Rayyan.
Al Ahli’s other victories were against Umm Salal (2-0) and Al Sadd (4-3). They suffered a 1-4 defeat at the hands of Al Rayyan.
Al Wakrah has two victories to their credit (5-1 against Al Sadd in the first round and 1-0 against Al Rayyan in the fourth round).
The Blue Wave were held goalless by both Umm Salal and Al Shahania in between.
Coming to the match, Al Ahli dominated right throughout and created the most chances. And they succeeded in capitalising on them.
While Al Ahli fielded a full-strength squad, Al Wakrah included seven Under-23 players in their starting eleven. And all their substitutes were either Under-23 or Under-18 players.
Al Ahli was 2-0 up by the end of the first half. They struck four more times on resumption to wind up their campaign in great style.
Elsewhere, at the Al Khor Stadium, Umm Salal defeated Al Shahania 2-0.
Jasser Yahya (23rd minute) and Mahmoud Al Mawas (45+1) scored Umm Salal’s goals.
However, it proved to be a losing cause for Umm Salal as they finished on six points, one less than Al Sadd who progressed to the quarterfinals as the fourth team from the group.
Al Ahli, Al Wakrah and Al Rayyan had already qualified for the knockout quarterfinals after Round 4, so the fight was between Al Sadd and Umm Salal for the remaining last-eight berth from Group A.
Al Shahania’s Nasser Jalal was sent off in stoppage time for a foul on Umm Salal’s Joao Bruno.
It was Umm Salal’s first victory in this season’s tournament.
Al Shahania remained at the bottom of the table with one point and without a win.