Al Sadd being on top of QNB Stars league table excites coach Ferreira PAGE 19 THURSDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2018 Struggling Australia seek more Lyon-hearted performances PAGE 18 EUROPA LEAGUE ARSENAL VS FK QARABAG ‘Humble’ PSG keeping cool heads after making it to Champions League last 16 AFP header from Marquinhos, Kylian Liverpool and Napoli, who were in their hands. Mbappe, who also laid on Cavani’s BELGRADE Mbappe’s injury-time strike and eliminated due to their defeat “We showed for a second time opener. Liverpool beating Napoli 1-0 en- at Anfield. after the match against Liverpool PARIS Saint-Germain (PSG) coach sured first place in the group after Topping such a keenly-contested that we are ready for this kind of Attacking trio triumph Thomas Tuchel said his side needs Marko Gobeljic pulled one back for group is a huge boost for PSG, match,” added Tuchel, whose side PSG had Red Star on the back foot to “stay humble” after they thumped the hosts early in the second half. who have dominated French football began the group stage with a 3-2 de- from the start, and their blistering Red Star Belgrade 4-1 on Tuesday “We made mistakes, but I really since being taken over by Qatari in- feat by the Reds at Anfield and then attacking trio of Neymar, Mbappe and qualified for the last 16 of the liked the reaction after Belgrade’s vestors. struggled to contain Napoli in the and Cavani did not waste time in Champions League, finishing ahead goal. We controlled the match,” said Arrival in the knockout stage two draws with the Italian side. putting the away side ahead. of Liverpool and Napoli to top a Tuchel to RMC Sport after the win. comes after two straight wins for However, PSG scored 10 goals Just eight minutes were on the tight Group C. “We need to stay humble and PSG, with Tuesday’s beating of Red in two games against Red Star, who clock when Cavani tapped Mbappe’s First-half goals from Edinson have a professional attitude. Star coming after a crucial 2-1 vic- beat Liverpool and drew with Napo- pass into an open goal, after the Cavani and Neymar set the French We are improving and tory over Liver- pool that li in Belgrade – dropped points that French teenage sensation met the Hard to beat champions on their way, we are hard to beat.” put quali- allowed the Ligue 1 leaders to finish excellent Marco Verratti’s through before a PSG fin- fication top. ball, brushed Filip Stojkovic aside We need to stay humble and bullet ished the “We are happy, we came for and slipped a perfect pass for the group qualification and we Uruguayan. have a professional attitude. stage on 11 showed our inten- Red Star captain Stojkovic had We are improving and we are points, two tions (with the a torrid evening, and Neymar made hard to beat. ahead of win),” said light work of the 25-year-old on his second- way to a wonderful solo goal in the Paris Saint-Germain coach placed 31st minute, dribbling into the box Thomas Tuchel. and sitting down the hosts’ keeper Milan Borjan before lifting the half, and could have scored twice second into the net. before Gobeljic smashed past Gian- The Ligue 1 leaders should luigi Buffon in the 56th minute to have been out of sight three min- set the Rajko Mitic stadium ablaze utes before the break, but Mbappe with noise. wasted an excellent chance However Marquinhos snuffed to make it three, again their enthusiasm out when he met bursting through past Di Maria’s beautiful deep free-kick Stojkovic on the left to make sure of the three points only to fluff his shot with 17 minutes remaining. Mbap- into the side netting. pe’s neat finish as the final seconds Red Star came out ticked away and Liverpool’s win firing in the second were the icing on the cake for PSG. PSG’s Marquinhos (hidden) is congratulated by teammates, including Cavani, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, after he scored a goal against Red Star Belgrade on Tuesday. (AFP) Djokovic attends RSB-PSG match Five Qatari referees for 2019 Asian Cup TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK DOHA THE Asian Football Confed- eration (AFC) has chosen five Qatari referees to officiate in the 2019 Asian Cup to be held in the UAE from January 5 to February 1, 2019. The selected referees are Abdul Rahman al Jassim, Khamis al Kuwari, Khamis al From left: Saud Ahmed, Talib Salem, Khamis al Kuwari, Khamis al Marri and Abdul Rahman al Jassim. Marri, and assistant referees Saud Ahmed and Talib Salem. Sanchez names preliminary Qatar squad for the AFC meet The referees will leave for the UAE on December 30 to DOHA The Qatar national team coach Felix Sanchez has announced a preliminary 27-man squad for take part in a final six-day the AFC Asian Cup to be held in the UAE next month. The list will be trimmed to 23 players Serbia’s Novak Djokovik (centre) during the European Champions League match between Red Star Belgrade workshop, which will be held AFTER Al Annabi’s final training camp and three friendlies. Qatar will play Jordan on December 23, (RSB) and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) at the Rajko-Mitic Stadium in Belgrade on Tuesday. The tennis star, from January 1 and conclude KYRGYZSTAN on 25th, Algeria on 27th and Iran on December 31st in Doha before leaving for the who is on a short vacation back home, will be back in action starting with the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in on January 5. UAE for the continental competition. Doha from December 31, 2018 to January 5, 2019. (AFP) With the Asian Cup ex- QATAR are in a tough Group E of the competition alongside Lebanon, North Korea, and Saudi tended to 24 teams from 16, Arabia. Qatar will take on Lebanon in their first match on January 9, North Korea on the 13th and the AFC has announced the Saudi Arabia on 17th. Two teams from each group will qualify for the knock-out stage. Khalifa gets ready for Qatar ExxonMobil Open appointment of 60 referees to THE LIST: Goalkeepers: Saad Al Sheeb, Youssef Hassan, Mohammed Al Bakri, Jassim Al Hail, Ya- run the 2019 Asian Cup. zen Naim; Defenders: Bassam Hisham, Sultan Al Brake, Hamed Ismail, Boualem Khoukhi, Tariq Sal- TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK facilities are being put in place to witness the best of their be- In addition to this list, man, Abdelkareem Al Ali, Pedro Miguel, Mohammed Alaa, Abdul Karim Hassan, Ali Afif, Mohammed DOHA to ensure another very success- loved sport as the world’s top which is the largest in the Musa; Midfielders: Salim Al Hajri, Assem Madbo, Karim Boudiaf, Ali Awad, Ahmed Fathy, Abdulrah- ful week-long feast of tennis. players compete in Doha yet history of the tournament, man Fahmy, Abdulaziz Hatem; Forwards: Hassan Al Haydous, Akram Afif, Almoez Ali, Ahmed Alaa. WITH less than three weeks to Novak Djokovic, the cur- again. Qatar ExxonMobil Open the AFC has also announced go before the 2019 edition of rent Wimbledon and US Open has earned the reputation of the appointment of 4 re- Qatar ExxonMobil Open, the champion, tops the entry list being one of the best organ- serve officials, where the list video assistant. nounced that a team of refer- edition in 2015 in Australia. Khalifa International Tennis of star players billed to feature ised tournaments on the ATP of referees includes 19 from “The expansion of the ees from CONCACAF will be During this period, the refer- and Squash Complex in Doha at this year’s event. He will be tour and this year won’t be an member national federa- Asian Cup was a strategic led by Mexican referee Cesar ees participated in 10 sessions has begun to wear a new look joined by the likes of Dominic exception. Fans are guaranteed tions and represents five re- decision that would not only Arutur, who co-managed the in order to ensure consistency with branding materials al- Thiem, Nikolov Basilashvili, the best of entertainment as gions of the AFC. benefit teams and players, 2018 World Cup, as part of of decisions and reach the ready in place. David Goffin, Karen Khachanov they watch their beloved stars The best referees of Asia but also extend to all as- the exchange programme be- highest levels. The annual tennis tourna- and this year’s French Open slug it out on the courts of the were chosen based on their pects of football develop- tween the two continental un- The final preparation ses- ment will be held at the venue semi-finalist Marco Cecchinato. Khalifa International Tennis abilities, knowledge, manage- ment including enhancing ions for the CONCACAF Gold sion for referees is taking from December 31, 2018 to Qatar ExxonMobil Open and Squash Complex.” ment skills and fitness. The ref- the chances of our referees to Cup next year. place in Abu Dhabi five days January 5, 2019. is one of the season-opening Tickets are on sale online erees are expected to perform emerge at the highest levels,” The preparation and selec- before the launch of the 2019 As parts of the prepara- events on the ATP World Tour. at www.qatartennis.org and a number of tasks including an the AFC stated. tion of referees for the man- Asian Cup in the UAE, with a tions, the courts are getting the Tournament director Karim at the City Centre, Landmark additional assistant referee, a In addition to the basic list agement of the Asian Cup major focus on Video Assis- required facelifts while other Alami said, “Tennis fans are set and Villaggio malls.