Amman – Egyptian head coach Tarek Mostafa is putting the finishing touches on Al-Faisaly football club's preparations, ahead of tomorrow's match against Qatar's Al-Rayyan club at Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium, in the opening game of its campaign in the Champions League Two, a match in which the Jordanian football representative is looking to secure a strong start and boost its chances of competing for one of the two qualifying spots from the group.
اضافة اعلان
Al-Faisaly held its first training session on Qatari soil the day before yesterday, following the squad's arrival in Al-Rayyan, with the coaching staff careful not to significantly increase the training load, opting instead for light, recovery-focused exercises, aimed at avoiding player fatigue, especially given the team's arrival after a travel journey and the accompanying strain and exhaustion.
The coaching staff, led by Tarek Mostafa, is expected to have finalized the lineup they will rely on for the match against Al-Rayyan during the final training sessions, along with determining the tactical approach and game plan, given the importance of handling a strong opponent carefully on their home turf, while at the same time seeking to capitalize on Al-Faisaly's strengths.
The team has no significant absences ahead of the match, except for player Nour Al-Rawabdeh, who is suffering from a sensation in one of his back vertebrae. The club delegation confirmed that the player's condition is good, but his participation in the match remains under evaluation by the technical and medical staff, particularly since Al-Faisaly may not want to risk fielding him for fear of aggravating the injury, especially with important matches awaiting the team in the coming period.
Al-Faisaly is counting on strong fan support in its match against Al-Rayyan, given the presence of the club's supporters' association in Qatar, along with the large numbers of Jordanian community members residing there, who made sure to welcome the team's delegation as soon as it arrived on Qatari soil, in a scene reflecting the level of support Al-Faisaly enjoys outside Jordan.
Al-Faisaly and its supporters hope the team will succeed in achieving a positive result at the start of its continental campaign, giving it a major morale boost before continuing group-stage competition and boosting its chances of competing for one of the two qualification spots to the next round, especially since the group doesn't look easy, with Qatar's Al-Rayyan, Saudi Arabia's Al-Ta'ee, and Oman's Al-Nahda also in it.
The coaching staff and players understand that collecting points at the start of the campaign will be extremely important, especially since competition among the group's teams is expected to be strong and close, making achieving a positive result away from home an important step in Al-Faisaly's calculations, before playing the rest of its Asian matches. As Al-Faisaly wraps up its preparations for the match, attention turns to the choices Tarek Mostafa will make, whether in terms of the starting lineup or tactical approach, in a match in which the team hopes to present a strong image befitting its name and Asian history, and to return with a result that gives it an ideal start in the AFC Champions League Two.
Al-Faisaly has a distinguished record at the continental level, having previously been crowned champion of the AFC Cup (under its former name) twice in a row, and having also finished runner-up in the tournament on another occasion giving the team significant Asian experience that could help it handle the atmosphere of continental competition, despite the change in the tournament's format and current name.
Al-Faisaly's squad for the Asian trip includes 24 players: Abdullah Al-Fakhouri, Nouraddin Bani Atiyeh, Abdul Rahman Al-Talalqa, Hossam Abu Al-Dhahab, Saidou Simpore, Muhannad Khairallah, Ahmad Abd Rabbo, Mohammad Haddad, Anas Badawi, Ihsan Haddad, Camilo Saldaña, Awn Al-Mahareme, Ghaith Al-Madadha, Wasim Al-Riyalat, Fadl Haikal, Nour Al-Rawabdeh, Ahowa Charles, Salah Al-Yahyai, Majdi Attar, Amin Al-Shananeh, Anas Al-Awdat, Ahmad Arsan, Malek Allan, and Rizq Bani Hani.
Resource: Al-Ghad. Reporting: Mohammad Arabiyat
