No Qudsawi player will be able to rest before resuming training, after the hectic confrontation with Al Hilal in the Saudi Professional League, as the team awaits a continental mission of great importance when it hosts Al Sadd of Qatar, on Monday, in the third round of the elite AFC Champions League tournament. Irish coach Rodriguez said: “We do not have time to be sad after the loss. Rather, we must return to work quickly, and not rely on the past loss.”
The Irish coach was keen to offer words of praise and appreciation to his players despite the pain of loss and loss of the lead, especially in light of his team being one game ahead of its closest competitor. The coach assured the players of his complete satisfaction with what they presented and avoided blaming some of the players who committed serious mistakes, especially in the middle of the defense or even the attackers who missed a number of scoring opportunities, especially the Italian Rettegui. Rodgers stressed that there is still a long way to go to compete in the league championship, and that Al-Qadisiyah’s chances in the competition are high, and that they must think positively, indicating that he is satisfied with what they presented throughout the two halves of the match and the double effort they made against the strongest team in the league, which has the most skilled, fastest, and most valuable players in the technical field, and is led by a capable coach. After the coach finished speaking to the players in the locker room, he headed to the press conference to make sure to deliver a motivating speech during which he said: “We delivered a message to Al Hilal that Al Qadisiyah is capable of competing with them until the end.” Rodgers justified this message by saying that he aims to clarify that Al-Qadisiyah rose from the first division only two seasons ago and is now competing with the strongest teams, competing with them, led by the experienced Al-Hilal, indicating that he does not mean other matters outside this framework. In the technical aspect of the match, the great impact of the absence of veteran Spanish defender Nacho Fernandez on the average center back of Al-Qadisiyah became clear, as reaching the goal for Al-Hilal players was easier than ever before, and Belgian goalkeeper Koen Castells shouldered many of the burdens, while a number of Al-Hilal strikers provided other opportunities to score. On the offensive side, Italian striker Retegui was not on his best day, wasting a number of opportunities, and took advantage of only one opportunity, including the second goal, which came after Al Hilal widened the gap by scoring 3 goals to one, after which Al Qadisiyah tried to at least make amends and maintain the lead, but time did not help them, and Al Hilal was able to maintain the winning result. Redgers touched on the defensive errors, especially in the second and third goals for Al Hilal, but he did not blame any player, but rather praised everyone in a step that indicates the extent of the coach’s responsibility and overcoming emotions. Statistics for the match between Al-Qadisiyah and Al-Hilal showed that the host was slightly superior in field control. Which means that Al Hilal coach Inzaghi chose to play concentrated play and direct attack rather than retain the ball, which caused the team to suffer in many matches, as the team was in control, but lost points.
The Al Hilal club team decided to remain in the city of Dammam after the victory over Al-Qadisiyah on Friday evening, due to the proximity of the team’s next match in the Qatari capital, Doha, against the Qatari Al-Shamal team.
Al Hilal players will return to training in Dammam on Saturday evening, and the team delegation will depart on Sunday morning for the State of Qatar. The team will conduct a training session on Sunday evening in Doha after its arrival, in preparation for facing Al-Shamal of Qatar next Tuesday in the third round of the AFC Elite Champions League.
Italian Simone Inzaghi, the team’s coach and one of the players, will hold a press conference at Al-Bayt Stadium at 7:15 pm next Monday. To talk about the match, the team will hold its last training session at eight o’clock in the evening on the same day.
Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, President of the Asian Football Confederation, confirmed on Friday that the continental federation will support Gianni Infantino’s candidacy for a new term at the helm of the International Federation (FIFA).
Sheikh Salman had previously opposed Infantino's controversial plan to sell the commercial rights to FIFA tournaments, including the World Cup, to external investors, a plan that ultimately did not see the light of day.
He also joined the presidents of the European Union (UEFA) and the North, Central American and Caribbean Confederation (CONCACAF) in signing an open letter, in which they described the “FIFA Forward Enterprise” project, proposed by Infantino, as a “grave betrayal of trust.”
The FIFA President later apologized for the shortcomings that marred the “communication and consultation process” related to the project.
In his opening speech before the AFC Extraordinary General Assembly meeting in Tokyo, Sheikh Salman affirmed that the Asian continent stands behind Infantino.
Addressing the Swiss-Italian official, who was present at the meeting, he said: “I think we reaffirm our full commitment to supporting you and your leadership in your endeavor to obtain a new term as president of FIFA.”
Infantino is scheduled to run in the presidential elections next March, seeking to win a fourth term extending until 2031, while those wishing to run must submit their files by November 18.
A number of the most prominent members of the AFC, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar, have already announced their support for Infantino. Although Sheikh Salman acknowledged the existence of previous disagreements between them regarding some files, he stressed the need to turn the page on the past and focus on the future.
Sheikh Salman, who is in turn preparing to run in the elections for a fourth term as head of the AFC next year, said: “I want to clarify something. Yes, we had some differences that we discussed in the past, but we should not remain prisoners of them.
He added: “We met in Zurich during the past few days, and there was a real and clear understanding between us.”
He continued: “We have to move forward.” Football is stronger when we work together with a common vision and one goal.” He went on to say: “As one Asian family, we are ready to move forward, and united in our support for you, Gianni. “I wanted that to be clear today.”
For his part, Infantino, President of the AFC, exchanged support during his speech to the attending delegations. “You have done a great job at the AFC over the past 13 years, dear Salman,” he said.
He added: “I am certain that you will continue to achieve great achievements in the coming years, no matter how long your career extends.” You will always find my full support, along with FIFA's support and partnership. Because what we have accomplished together over the past years is the best evidence of what we can achieve.”
When asked later about Sheikh Salman’s statements, Infantino said: “I am very pleased with the support I enjoy from the Asian Football Confederation.”
Although the African federations also announced their support for Infantino's re-election, he still faces reservations from the European Union, which demanded clarification from FIFA on a number of issues related to his administration, including the "FIFA Forward Enterprise" project and the "FIFA Peace Prize."
Japanese Football Association President Tsuneyasu Miyamoto told reporters on Friday that the federation is looking forward to joining the AFC, but has not yet made a decision.
He also expressed uncertainty about whether all 47 EU member states were united in supporting Infantino.
Miyamoto said: “I do not think that the views of the AFC members are completely compatible, but I think that the AFC and FIFA hold meetings on an ongoing basis. I also understand that they discussed this issue at the recent FIFA Council meeting in Zurich; So I think this (support for Infantino) is the result of discussions that took place on different occasions. He clearly confirmed that he will abandon the FIFA Forward Enterprise project permanently, and that he has no intention of moving forward with it in the future. He also apologized regarding this issue, so everyone accepted what he said.
