Al Duhail coach Luis Castro spoke to the media ahead of their 2021-2022 season QNB Stars League Week 12 match against Al Khor.

“Everyone knows that Al Khor have changed their coach (Brazilian Andre Lima replaced German Winfried Schafer) and they were able to achieve their first victory. He loves his team to play in a balanced way. Al Khor are known for the rapid transfer of the ball from the midfield to the attack. They attack and defend as one block and have a strong defence, so we must beware of them. They are difficult to beat and we will go into the match in order to achieve three points.

“We will strive to continue with the performance that we showed in the last match, but we must know that the world is now going through an epidemic that makes it difficult for any coach in the world to prepare his team properly. There are many international teams who have lost the services of some players because of Covid-19, which affects the coaches in terms of preparations. I can be surprised by the absence of a number of players in our next match because of this matter and there are psychological factors too. All of these things have caused a lot of obstacles.

“I do not look at the standings table and I know perfectly well that Al Khor will be very motivated against us as they are coming off a victory. We are working in our training to win the next match. I do not know the lineup of Al Khor or the way they will perform on the field, but as I said, we will play to win,” said Castro.

Al Duhail player Edmilson Junior said, “We will enter the stadium in order to achieve another victory in the league. Matches against Al Khor are always very difficult, it is a team that has gained great confidence after its recent victory over Qatar SC.

“I am sure that our match against them will be difficult. We will go into the match to win, knowing that Al Khor will be motivated in this game.”