Al Rayyan coach Laurent Blanc and goalkeeper Fahad Younis spoke to the media ahead of their 2020-21 season Ooredoo Cup final against Al Sailiya, to be played at the Al Sadd Stadium on Friday, 26th March. The kick-off is at 17:00.

Blanc said, “The outcome of the match against Al Sailiya cannot be predicted, but our ambition is to win the Ooredoo Cup. We know the difficulty my team faces against Al Sailiya in the final. No one can predict the outcome of the team’s match with Al Sailiya given the difficulty of the clash and the desire of each team to win the championship.

“My team has prepared well for the match. As always, we are preparing all players for any clash in the best way possible, both technically and physically. My team went through training with full force in the last period to reach the best possible readiness. All players are ready to play the match with the exception of national team players who are in Hungary for the European qualifiers for 2022 FIFA World Cup.

“My team will play the Al Sailiya match with all strength and seriousness in order to win the championship. We have followed the opposing team and watched their last few matches. Al Sailiya are a good team and include high-level players.

“When I came to Al Rayyan, I tried to deal with the existing situation to improve the image of the side and I found a great response from everyone, but this is not enough. We still need more time to develop and improve further, and there must be a certain level in quality that I want my team to play with as it aligns with my philosophy.”

Fahad said, “Every Al Rayyan player is excited to play the Ooredoo Cup final. We will go into the match against Al Sailiya with the goal of winning. Al Sailiya had beaten us in the second leg of this season’s QNB Stars League and that very reason would make the match strong and tough.

“We go into every match we play in any tournament with the only ambition of victory and we hope that we will succeed tomorrow. We have done well and have prepared ourselves in the best way. We have trained with all strength throughout the last period. There is great motivation among the players and the team will fight in the final in order to win.

“All players are excited to play the final especially since some are playing a final match for the first time with the senior team. Therefore, everyone is looking forward to win the title.”