Al Duhail coach Djamel Belmadi spoke to the media ahead of their 2025-2026 Doha Bank Stars League Week 15 match against Umm Salal.

“This is another important match coming after our game against Al Rayyan, which we did not win. Therefore, winning this match is crucial. Since the beginning of the season, we have faced numerous challenges due to injuries. Just watch our matches and you will see that we have young players and players from the reserve team on the bench.

“These are circumstances I am experiencing for the first time in my coaching career. I have never faced anything like this before, even as a player. I never witnessed such a large number of key players being absent, players who directly impact the team’s performance. But we have to adapt to this reality.

“We must also consider the fact that the opposing team has a new coach. The most important thing for us is to focus on ourselves and work on delivering the performance required to achieve victory in this match,” said Belmadi.

Al Duhail player Bassam Al Rawi said, “I wish to emphasize the importance of winning the remaining matches, particularly the upcoming game against Umm Salal, which presents a significant challenge given their position in the league table.

“We must put the last match behind us and focus on this crucial and difficult encounter against Umm Salal, who are also eager to secure the three points, just as we are, to win and climb the standings.”