Injury-Hit Al Arabi Still Confident of Reaching Final
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FFOOTBALLOOTBALL | Page 3 CCYCLINGYCLING | Page 4 A life of excess: Ackermann Maradona wins stage 9 turns 60 in aft er Bennett self-isolation relegated Friday, October 30, 2020 MOTOR RACING Rabia I 13, 1442 AH Mercedes set for GULF TIMES seventh team title and F1 fi rst at Imola SPORT Page 6 AMIR CUP Injury-hit Al Arabi still confi dent of reaching fi nal Hallgrimsson wary of Markhiya, who beat fancied Al Gharafa in the last 16 and Al Rayyan in the quarter-final By Sports Reporter Doha he uncertainty over the avail- ability of key players has cast a shadow over Al Arabi’s Amir Cup semi-fi nal against Al TMarkhiya today. As many as fi ve play- ers were absent from Arabi’s draw with Al Wakrah in the QNB Stars League last week, with coach Heimir Hallgrimsson admitting yesterday, “We’re in a race against time.” While key forward Mohamed El Neel is ruled out for a month, Hallgrimsson is hoping Sebastian Soria, Hamdi Har- baoui, Mehdi Torabi and Marc Martinez will be ready to face the second division side Al Markhiya at the Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium today. Al Arabi have had a diffi cult couple of months since the resumption of football following the coronavirus disruption. While they managed to fi nish seventh last season in the league, they are a lowly ninth in the current campaign, having only won once in fi ve matches so far. They were also beaten comprehen- sively by Al Sadd in the Ooredoo Cup fi nal, extending Arabi’s wait for a title, which last came in 2011 when they won the Sheikh Jassim Cup. While heavyweights Al Sadd or Al Al Arabi coach Heimir Hallgrimsson (centre) speaks to his players during a training session yesterday. Al Markhiya players train yesterday. Duhail will wait for them in the fi nal, Al Arabi fi rst need to get past Markhiya, ed and it’s very diffi cult to get videos of fancied Al Gharafa in the last 16 and Al Omar Najhi is in charge of Markhiya strength to win against them.” the journey,” he said. who have punched above their weight them,” the Icelandic coach said. Rayyan in the quarter-fi nal. now. Hallgrimsson said Najhi’s side are Najhi, meanwhile said it was an The Markhiya coach said Al Arabi in the Amir Cup. While the readiness “I am satisfi ed with the level of the “We are trying to put an end to the Al always diffi cult to score against as they historic opportunity for Markhiya’ to will be the fancied today, but was confi - of his key players concerned Hall- players and what they did, especially in Markhiya adventure. But their results are well drilled defensively. “We know reach the Amir Cup fi nal and praised dent his team’s chances. grimsson, he also admitted to know- the last match in the league. We played so far are not a stroke of luck. They have coach Najhi and his organised defen- his predecessor Yunus Ali for his work “I have a good group of players, who ing nothing of Markhiya. “We deal with against Al Wakrah without fi ve players performed well,” he said. sive style. Markhiya team also has good at the club. “We have great ambition have experience and ambition and they this match like any other match and the but I hope they’ll be fi t to play against Markhiya, who missed promotion to attacking players and can punish us with Markhiya having an historic op- have a professional mentality, which preparations are not diff erent, but the Markhiya,” he added. the QNB Stars League after losing to Al if we underestimate them, which will portunity after some great work done has made it easy for me to work with only diff erence is that we do not know Hallgrimsson conceded Arabi will Khor in the play-off , have a new coach. not happen,” he said. “We will be un- by former coach Yunus Ali and leading them. Playing in the Amir Cup semi- much about Al Markhiya, which is diffi - go into the match as favourites but With Yunus Ali taking over at Qatar der pressure against Markhiya, who are the team to the semi-fi nals. We have fi nal is a golden opportunity for us and cult. The second division has just start- was wary of Markhiya, who had beaten Sports Club, former Al Khor coach a good team, but we will throw all our great confi dence and strive to complete we hope to take advantage of it.” FOCUS SPOTLIGHT 2027 AFC Asian Cup bid: QFA QMMF to conduct fourth round of submits legal requirements fi le Qatar National Baja championship By Sports Reporter Doha By Sports Reporter Doha he Qatar Football Association (QFA) yes- terday submitted the legal requirements atar Motor & Motorcycle Federation fi le to the Asian Football Confederation (QMMF) will conduct the fourth (AFC) for hosting the 2027 AFC Asian round of the Qatar National Baja TCup. Qatar, the reigning champions of the AFC today and tomorrow. A high and en- Asian Cup after clinching their maiden crown in Qcouraging response has been received from the the United Arab Emirates in 2019, are aiming to participants for the event which will be held be the fi rst Asian country to stage the Continent’s with all the preventive measures put in place premier national team competition for the third by the QMMF, and all safety protocols as per time having hosted previously in 1988 and 2011. the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) will be QFA said in a statement it is committed to ful- strictly followed. fi lling all hosting requirements in line with its as- of its kind in the Middle East. Yesterday, QMMF held a theory session for pirations to host the 2027 AFC Asian Cup as per Qatar’s bid to host the 2027 edition of the Asian navigational training for the motorcycle cat- the highest international standards. QFA also said Cup comes as the natural progression of the egory participants of the fourth round of the it is determined to provide a football experience country’s sports ambitions, following its success Qatar National Baja to be held near Al Khor Competitors prepare their bikes on the eve of the fourth round of the Qatar National Baja. that not only meets the ambitions of the Asian in hosting international and continental sports and Dukhan areas. The race distance will be audience but also fosters social change and rap- tournaments. over 141.42km in 2 laps. As many as 52 entries prochement between societies. Four other AFC Member Associations have also in the motorcycle category were confi rmed for Digital navigation QFA, represented by HE Fahad bin Mohamed indicated their intentions to host Asia’s crown the start. systems were installed Kafood, the ambassador of the State of Qatar to jewel including the All India Football Federation, The administrative checks, scrutineering on bikes yesterday. Malaysia, had previously handed over the fi rst Football Federation of Iran, Saudi Arabian Foot- and briefi ng of riders was also done. The bike part of the fi le on August 26th earlier this year ball Federation and Uzbekistan Football Associa- competition has been re-introduced this year to AFC in Kuala Lumpur. The submitted fi le ful- tion – all of whom submitted their expressions of after a long break as they will take part in the fi lled the necessities of hosting requirements in interest by the June 30, 2020 deadline. fourth and fi fth rounds. However, there would addition to highlighting Qatar’s rich history and The AFC Executive Committee had earlier be championship title for bike competitors. legacy in organising continental and international agreed to provide future hosts for the AFC Asian Today, the installation of navigation kits tournaments and sporting events. Cup, beginning with the 2027 edition, with more will be done and trouble-shooting guide is- The dossier presented by Kafood also included preparation time ahead of the event as part of the sues besides start details for the car category the QFA’s vision for the country’s sports facilities AFC’s continued commitment towards strength- being announced. and associated infrastructure that will be ready ening its competitions. Tomorrow, the 4th round of Qatar National to host events of any scale such as the 2022 FIFA The host nation for the 19th edition of the AFC Baja will kick off at 8am with motorcycle cat- World Cup Qatar, the fi rst mega-sporting event Asian Cup will be announced in 2021. egory event, followed by the cars 11am. Gulf Times 2 Friday, October 30, 2020 FOOTBALL CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Rashford stars for Man Utd as Barcelona beat Juventus ‘We looked dangerous throughout and that we could score every time we went forward’ AFP Paris arcus Rashford was again the star for Manchester United in the Champions League with a hat-trick Min a 5-0 thumping of RB Leipzig on Wednesday night as Barcelona put their off -fi eld troubles to one side to win 2-0 away to a Juventus side deprived of Cristiano Ronaldo. Rashford’s late goal earned United a 2-1 victory away to Paris Saint-Ger- main last week and at Old Traff ord the England striker came on as a second- half substitute and scored three times from the 74th minute on in what was a fi ne win against last season’s semi- fi nalists. Paul Pogba released Mason Greenwood to open the scoring in the fi rst half, before the youngster made way for Rashford after the break and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side ran away with the game to make it two wins from two in Group H.