Al Rayyan will go up against Umm Salal in round two of the QSL this Friday at the Al Sadd stadium. Last season’s champions have a tough game to look forward to as they aim to defend their title.

The Lions won their opening encounter against Al Shahania by three goals to nil. They will be banking on their star striker, Rodrigo Tabata to replicate another goal scoring performance against Umm Salal.

Jorge Fossati, the head coach of Al Rayyan is full of admiration for his opponents, “It is a tough game for us. Umm Salal always gives a hard time to their opponents. Umm Salal have played a similar styles for many years. I am really optimistic because our team has been preparing with a high mentality and high team spirit.”

“I am happy with the player’s performance in the last game. We were missing, Sebastian Soria and Victor Caceres and their replacements did a great job,” added the Uruguayan tactician at a press conference on Wednesday.

“In Qatar usually six or seven teams are competing for the top four spots. This season will be a very tough one. We will try to do our job and we will be thinking game by game. You cannot predict the result of the game beforehand. We are looking forward to a very difficult season for us and everybody,” added Fossati.



Umm Salal like their opponents got off to a winning start with a 2-1 victory against Al Khor. After losing both games to Al Rayyan last season they will be aiming to make a positive impression against the current champions.

Bulent Uygun, the head coach of Umm Salal said, “We had a good start against Al Khor this season. Al Rayyan are one of the favourites for the title, we have to do is to play in way that suites Umm Salal.”

“We have some players like Yannick Sagbo and Ismail Mohammed who have minor injuries and I hope it doesn't affect their performance,” added the Turkish tactician.

Speaking about his ambition for this season Uygun said that, “This season the competition will be very difficult. I still have the aim for achieving the AFC Champions League spot and this time there is more competitors for those spots.”