FFOOTBALLOOTBALL | Page 2 FFORMULAORMULA 1 | Page 7 France held I don’t think I by Ukrain, will stop, says Belgium gain champion Wales revenge Hamilton Friday, March 26, 2021 CRICKET Sha’aban 13, 1442 AH India series defeat GULF TIMES would not change England: Stokes SPORT Page 4 BARWA GRAND PRIX OF QATAR Lights on, lights out as MotoGP With Marc Marquez missing in action, focus gets underway in Qatar will be on champion Mir Agencies Moto2 riders might have an ad- Doha vantage over their experienced MotoGP counterparts this week- end as only the intermediate cat- ollowing two weeks of egories raced in Qatar last year testing at Qatar’s Losail with the MotoGP round blocked circuit, the new MotoGP by Covid-19 restrictions in Eu- season gets underway rope. Fthis weekend with the Barwa In Moto2, Britain’s Sam Lowes Grand Prix of Qatar with a host of (third in the 2020 championship) riders looking to exploit the con- will be worth a look, as will Italy’s tinued absence of six-time world Marco Bezzecchi (4th) and Aus- champion Marc Marquez. tralia’s Remy Gardner (6th), with The 28-year-old Spanish star the three clocking the fastest injured his right arm during the times in pre-season tests. fi rst race of 2020 in Jerez and has In Moto3, fans will be expect- subsequently undergone three ing a thrilling clash between operations. veterans John McPhee, Darryn As well as missing the inaugu- Binder, Jaume Masia, Dennis ral race, which takes place under Foggia and Gabriel Rodrigo and fl oodlights on Sunday, the Honda newcomers Pedro Acosta, Izan star will also be out of action for Guevara, Adrian Fernandez and next week’s second round at the Xavier Artigas. same circuit. Vice President and General In his absence, the focus will Manager of Losail Circuit Club naturally be on reigning cham- Khalid al-Rumaihi confi rmed pion Spain’s Joan Mir (Suzuki), the full readiness of the circuit Italy’s Franco Morbidelli (Yama- to host the inaugural round of ha-SRT), who came second last the MotoGP World Champion- season, and Spain’s Alex Rins ship, noting the great confi dence (Suzuki), third in the champion- of the FIM and Dorna Group, the ship in 2020. promoter of the Championship, However, there will be even in Qatar’s ability to host major more focus on the riders who sporting events. dominated testing which was In a statement, al-Rumaihi also held at the Losail track. said that Qatar has repeatedly The fastest rider of the fi ve demonstrated its great capabili- days of tests, Australia’s Jack ties in organising sporting events Miller on a Ducati could also be at a high level of competence un- in contention for the title, saying der any circumstances. he had “never felt so comfortable He explained that a health pro- on the bike before starting the tocol during the championship Championship as this year”. is applied by QMMF and Losail Circuit Sports Club, in co-oper- DUCATI V YAMAHA ation with the Ministry of Public Miller will have to face off against MotoGP riders pose for a group picture at the Losail International Circuit yesterday, on the eve of the season-opening Barwa Qatar Grand Prix. Health. Yamaha which holds the record He stressed that this health on the Losail track with eight for their times followed by Mor- Just one team, Suzuki, has held Morbidelli by his side. ers capable of emerging as seri- on the grid to represent the Ital- protocol has proven to be very wins to Ducati’s fi ve and per- bidelli in fourth. on to its two riders from last sea- Spain’s Pol Espargaro shifts ous contenders will make their ian brand: Spain’s Jorge Martin eff ective so far, pointing out that formed admirably during the test There are changes across the son. from KTM to Honda, alongside debut in new colours: Miller at Pramac and Moto2 champion, there is constant follow-up and period. grid with riders on new bikes rid- Seven-time MotoGP world Marquez’s stand-in, German and his Italian teammate Franc- Italy’s Enea Bastianini, at Avintia examination of all participants Spain’s Maverick Vinales and ing for new teams promising to champion Rossi, 42, opens a Stefan Bradl. esco Bagnaia, as well as France’s who will be joined by his coun- in the event in order to ensure France’s Fabio Quartararo, who make this season of 19 scheduled new chapter as a satellite rider Johann Zarco, leader in their tryman Luca Marini, the half- the safety of everyone, including succeeds Italy’s Valentino Rossi, races one to watch, Covid-19 for Yamaha SRT, the first time NEW COLOURS ALL ROUND former home Pramac. brother of Rossi. riders, organisers, offi cials and came in second and third place permitting. he will race with countryman At Ducati, not two but three rid- Three rookies will join them Unusually, the three former volunteers. FOOTBALL Al Rayyan, Al Sailiya all set in quest for Ooredoo Cup glory QNA Doha Ooredoo Cup fi nal to be l Rayyan and Al Sailiya played without fans are all set for the 2020- QNA Public Health to ensure every- 21 Ooredoo Cup fi nal, Doha one’s health and safety. which will be held at The decision includes those who AJassim Bin Hamad Stadium to- have already purchased the day. atar Stars League tickets via the off icial website or Al Rayyan qualifi ed for the fi - decided to ban fans from received invitations to attend nal after defeating Al Gharafa Qstadiums including the the game. Qatar Stars League 3-0 during the semi-fi nal match, final of Ooredoo Cup set to take added that they will contact during which Ivorian Yohan Poli place today between Al Sailiya fans who purchased tickets to scored the fi rst two goals, while and Al Rayyan. provide them with refunds. Mohamed Jumaa scored the The measure was taken in light Qatar Stars League added that third, to reach the title round. of the latest developments is co-ordinating with all state Al Sailiya reached the fi nal af- and the decisions made by the bodies on the latest develop- ter the Qatar Football Association Supreme Committee for Crisis ments in order to take the Disciplinary Committee decided Management and Ministry of appropriate measures. a 3-0 defeat for Al Wakrah, after the latter fi elded Jassim al-Jalabi Al Rayyan coach Laurent Blanc and Al Sailiya coach Sami Trabelsi (right). in the match despite his absence zi, and goalkeeper Fahd Younes. for the match. As always, we from the team sheet. The commit- a major cup victory. results as they have very high- that lack of focus from players expertise of Muhannad Ali, Al Sailiya had beaten Al Rayyan are preparing all players for any tee decision, which also included a Trabelsi said, “It will defi nite- level players. And since the arriv- was seen in many matches we Thiago Queiroz, Ahmed Ham- in the league match 2-0, and the clash in the best way possible, fi ne on Al Wakrah, came about af- ly be a strong match against Al al of coach Laurent Blanc, their have played recently. As a result, moudan, Majdi Siddiq, Nadir latter will be looking to settle that both technically and physically. ter Al Sailiya protested al-Jalabi’s Rayyan. We see it as an opportu- team has shown how to advance we committed mistakes that cost Belhadj, Mustafa Abdel Hamid, debt with a title win. My team went through training participation in the match. nity to correct the situation and to the top four in the league. the team many goals. Sergeen Mboudji, goalkeeper Blanc said, “The outcome of with full force in the last period Both the teams will be without appear better, and improve re- “We have prepared well for “Being in the fi nal is an op- Claude Amin, and other play- the match against Al Sailiya can- to reach the best possible readi- players who are on national duty sults that have not gone well for the match and are focused on the portunity to compete for an im- ers, while Al Rayyan’s ranks not be predicted, but our ambi- ness. All players are ready to play but the two coaches – Al Sailiya’s us in the recent period. psychological aspect of a game portant title and achieve the fi rst include Yacine Brahimi, Frank tion is to win the Ooredoo Cup. We the match with the exception of Sami Trabelsi and Al Rayyan’s “Al Rayyan are an excellent like this because the team does championship trophy in the his- Com, Ahmed Abdel-Maqsoud, know the diffi culty my team faces national team players who are in Laurent Blanc – will be looking and balanced team that is going not suff er technically, but rather tory of Al Sailiya club.” Gabriel Mercado, Mohamed against Al Sailiya in the fi nal. Hungary for the European quali- inspire their respective teams to through a good period with good on the mental side only. We know Al Sailiya will rely on the Alaa, Abdel-Rahman Al-Hara- “My team has prepared well fi ers for 2022 FIFA World Cup.” Gulf Times 2 Friday, March 26, 2021 FOOTBALL WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS FOCUS FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 will be the best in France held by history, says Qatar’s ambassador to Azerbaijan QNA self is a source of pride and privi- Baku lege to the Qatari people.