Al Shamal coach Hicham Jadrane spoke to the media ahead of their 2021-2022 season QNB Stars League Week 1 match against Al Gharafa.

“It’s a difficult confrontation against a big team with a long history in Qatar football and who were ranked fourth in the league last season.

“We’re ready for the match and are eager to kick off the first appearance of Al Shamal in the league after six seasons.

“We want to prove to everyone that Al Shamal did not come into the league by chance, but rather on merit. To achieve this goal, our preparations were strong through the overseas camp in Turkey.

“The team only needs to reach the appropriate combination of players. We’ll try to make the best possible formation despite the hot conditions at this time of the year. We hope we’ll be successful and make a good start in the new season.

“All players are ready, and Jordanian Baha Faisal and Iraqi Amjad Atwan have returned from their country duties,” said Hicham.

Al Shamal player Yassin Yaqoub said, “The team has prepared well during the last period and the club has supported the team with a number of new players in order to appear well in the league.

“I think the last period was enough for the new players to adopt to the team’s ambience, but the official matches will be the real test and we hope to appear well.

“The match against Al Gharafa will be difficult since they’re a big team. But at the same time, our team has the ability to appear distinctively, which is what everyone wishes in Al Shamal club.”