Al Wakrah coach Marquez Lopez spoke to the media ahead of their 2023-2024 season Expo Stars League Week 2 match against Al Shamal.

“Our preparations are limited to two days only, given that the interval between our match in the AFC Champions League and the next game is only four days, including one day for recovery and another for rest.

“We are working to do our best during the preparations for this important game, which will certainly be difficult, given that we will be facing a strong opponent, which is Al Shamal. I had watched them in the first round and made sure that they has many positive aspects that need to be focused on intensely in order to face them properly.

“The Al Shamal ranks have witnessed many changes due to the inclusion of many new players, and there have also been many changes in their system and in their ideas. And they can play offensively.

“The competition in the league championship differs from the Asian championship in which we played one match, and since our players presented strong levels in it, I hope that they continue to play with the same mentality. AFC Champions League is past and now we must focus on the league championship in order to occupy an advanced position again that will help us return to the AFC Champions League,” said Marquez.

Al Wakrah defender Trent Sainsbury said, “Our match against Al Shamal will be very different from our face-offs in the league last season.

“They have changed a lot from last season and included a large group of new players, and we also have some new players.

“Although we do not have much time to prepare for this match, we have the professional mentality in every match we play. Therefore, we have the highest levels of concentration before this game.”