Al Sadd coach Xavi spoke to the media ahead of their 2021-2022 season QNB Stars League Week 4 match against Al Shamal.

“My players are ready. We want to continue the winning streak. That’s the way to work perfectly. We feel we have a difficult match against Al Shamal. They are new to the league, but they are performing well so far. I was surprised how well they are playing. I watched their match against Qatar SC. They played very well and gave a good performance. They have a good team and their coach, Hicham Jadrane, is doing well. He is brave and wants to play by building attacks.

“Overall, Al Shamal are a good team and we will suffer if we think it is easy to win the match. We respect them a lot and I respect the coach. Their victory over Qatar SC means a lot to them.

“We will be missing many players because of injuries. We will miss Santi Cazorla, Boualem Khoukhi, Saad Al Dossari and Abdelkarim Hassan. This bunch is very important, but thank God we have a large group of quality players to choose from as replacements,” said Xavi.

Al Sadd player Akram Afif said, “This is an important match and we have prepared well for the Al Shamal clash. We must be fully prepared. Al Shamal beat Qatar SC and were ahead of Al Sailiya before losing that match.

“This match will not be easy for both teams. We have nine points and we are in the lead. Al Shamal can embarrass us if we are careless. At the same time, we can make the match easier for ourselves, but staying focused. Our goal is to win the match and collect the three points.

“Regarding our win in the Qatar Clasico against Al Rayyan, I would say Hashem Ali’s goal was the one which brought Al Rayyan back into the match. If the first half had ended 3-0, the overall result of the match would have been different. We thank God for the victory. This win has given us great motivation to do well as we look to bag more points in the league.”

“I would like to say that Al Sadd fans are the true support of the team. We will strive to win all matches and tournaments for Al Sadd fans. We feel they are always there for us on the field.”