Al Duhail coach Djamel Belmadi spoke to the media ahead of their 2025-2026 season Doha Bank Stars League Week 8 match against Al Shamal.

“We are fully aware of the importance of facing Al Shamal, the league leaders. Last season’s match saw Al Shamal dominate by a large margin, and it was this match that prevented us from winning the league title.

“We moved directly from the match against Al Wahda to preparing for the match against Al Shamal in the league. We must cope with the pressure of the matches we face and rely on our prepared players.

“The international break was long, and we were relatively affected by it after the positive results we had achieved. We also benefited somewhat in terms of preparation and correcting some mistakes. Regarding the Al Wahda match, I assure you that Al Wahda's international players played a match against the national team and a league match, while we did not. This, of course, negatively impacted the team's performance, but that is no justification or excuse for the match's result,” said Belmadi.

Al Duhail player Benjamin Bourigeaud said, “Our main focus during the recent period was on recovery after the Al Wahda match. We know that Al Shamal are a strong team and we will try to do our best to win the match. A win will certainly have an impact on the team's progress in the league championship, and we will strive to win the match.”