At the end of the quarter-finals of King Salman Cup for Arab Clubs 2023..Moroccan team Raja faces the Saudi team Al-Nassr.. while the Saudi team Al-Shabab faces the Emirati team Al-Wahda

The quarter-finals of King Salman Cup for Arab Clubs 2023 will be concluded on Sunday with two matches. The first between the Moroccan team Raja and the Saudi team Al-Nassr, and the second between the Saudi team Al-Shabab and the Emirati team Al-Wahda.

At Prince Sultan Sports City Stadium in Abha, Raja will face Al-Nassr at 6 pm in KSA time.

Raja qualified at the top of the fourth group with 9 points from 3 victories, to face Al-Nassr, the runner-up of Group C, with 5 points from a win and two draws.

At King Fahd Sports City in Taif, Al-Shabab will face Al-Wahda, at 9 pm in KSA time.

Al-Shabab qualified at the top of the third group, with 7 points from two wins and a draw, to face Al-Wahda, the runner-up of Group D, with 6 points from two victories and one loss.

Coaches press conferences

Today, Saturday, press conferences were held for the Al-Shabab, Al-Wahda, Raja and Al-Nassr coaches, to talk about the latest preparations for the two matches on Sunday at the end of the quarter-finals.

Marcel Kaiser, Al-Shabab coach, said: “I know Al-Wahda team very well. It has distinguished foreign players, and it presents great levels in football. We need to be more developed during the upcoming matches. Elimination round matches do not accept any other option but to win, and they do not give you any opportunity to compensate”.

He added: “It is true that I did not take over the job for a long time, but Al-Shabab team has good players who are able to develop quickly. We need to score and be more effective on goal, and the most important thing was to win the last two matches specifically to qualify for the quarter-finals. We created many chances in the last match, unlike Zamalek match, which reflects the extent of the team’s development, but we suffer from wasting those opportunities in front of the goal”.

Al-Shabab player Hussein Al-Qahtani said: “Al-Wahda team is ready and presents great levels. We suffer from some negatives, but we are working on them very seriously with the coach during the current time, and we qualified as leaders of the strongest group in the tournament.”

Al-Wahda coach Pitso Mosimani stressed: “The match will be different from the group stage. This time there is no alternative to winning within the 90 minutes, and therefore we must win if we want to continue in the championship. We will face a strong team from the Saudi League, which has qualified players and a great coach. It will be a distinguished meeting for us, the pressure is on Al-Shabab, not on us. If we win, it will be good, and if we lose, we will not face any crisis.

He added: “We are not candidates to win the title, especially as we are facing many strong and big teams. I knew that the task was very difficult in order to qualify for the quarter-finals, but it was achieved anyway, and it was wonderful. The Saudi League currently includes a group of the best players and coaches at the world, but its teams also qualified with difficulty for the next round, everyone fought until the last breath in every match; Al-Hilal, Al-Ittihad, Al-Nassr and Al-Shabab, and we will fight in the next match and create difficulties for the opposing team, and therefore its task will not be easy.

Alaa El-Din Zuhair, Al-Wahda player, explained: “We have prepared well for the match. We will face a strong competitor like Al-Shabab, and the matches from now on will be different from the groups, and we must implement the coach’s instructions in the best way.”

For his part, Al-Nassr coach Luis Castro said that he hopes that his players will present distinguished levels and appear in high spirit during the match, pointing out that he watched several matches for Raja team, and learned about the strengths and weaknesses of its players.

He added: “Our goal is always to reach the final match, especially in this tournament that witnesses distinguished levels and high-quality players. It is true that fatigue has begun to appear on many teams, but the goal remains the same in the end. Our team is ready and in excellent condition, and we are well aware of what is required of us in a match against an opponent which plays with a great defensive plan, and has quality players on the wings, I pledge to the fans that we will do our best against a strong opponent.”

Anderson Talisca, Al-Nassr player, said: “I expect the match to be very competitive and strong, but in any case our goal is to win and continue the journey towards the final. We are fully prepared, and we hope to win titles in the presence of a great coach and players with big names.”

On the other hand, Raja coach Joseph Zinbauer said: “The match will be very difficult for us against a competitor that includes big names and high-quality players. We will do everything we have to win and cross into the top four, especially since we now have the experience that qualifies us to achieve victory.”

He added: “We will have a chance to win if we play with the spirit of one team. We are well aware of the value and strength of this tournament. We try to study each competitor well. I watched a number of Al-Nassr matches and know that his coach is still making some adjustments to the formation, and he has players with a high market value. We have to give 100% if we want to win.”

Mohamed Azraida, Raja player, said: “We are fully prepared to play the match. We try in every meeting to do our best, and the goal now is to pass to the semi-finals. Any player wishes to play against Cristiano Ronaldo, but Al-Nassr is not only Ronaldo, but it contains Lots of great players”.